or


[09/27/10 - 08:52 AM]
ABC Sunday Dramas Score Best Numbers Since January
ABC spins the numbers for Sunday, September 26.

[via press release from ABC]

ABC Sunday Dramas Score Best Numbers since January

Some early info on ABC's Sunday drama premieres, ahead of the regular press release.

Opposite heavy competition on the night from sports-boosted CBS (NFL overrun) and NBC (Sunday Night Football) and Fox (back-to-back Family Guy premieres), ABC's seventh-season premiere of Desperate Housewives stood as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program. Housewives won its 9 o'clock time slot with all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), registering as Sunday's # 1 TV show on all 3 counts.

· Desperate Housewives built 5% among Adults 18-49 from up from where it finished out last season on its May finale, outperforming its 2010 May Sweep averages in both viewers (+6%) and young adults (+8%). Housewives drew its biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 9 months - since 1/10/10.

Opposite NBC's Sunday Night Football and CBS' special premiere of Undercover Boss, ABC's fifth-season premiere of Brothers & Sisters finished #1 in the 10 o'clock hour across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Like its lead-in, Brothers & Sisters picked up where it left off last season, outperforming its May 2010 averages by 8% in Total Viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49. In fact the ABC drama posted its highest Adult 18-49 number since January - since 1/10/10.

Quick Take for Sunday, September 26, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

7th-Season Opener of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Stands as Sunday's Most-Watched Entertainment Show and No. 1 Overall in Key Women Demos

"Housewives" Marks the Series' Strongest Results in Nearly 9 Months

On its 5th-Season Premiere, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" Leads its Hour in Key Women and Post its Highest Adult 18-49 Number Since Early January

"Brothers & Sisters" Builds on its Year-Ago Season Premiere in Overall Viewers

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite heavy competition on the night from CBS' football-boosted season premieres (from an approximate 47-minute primetime NFL overrun), NBC ("Sunday Night Football") and Fox (back-to-back "Family Guy" premieres), ABC's 7th-season premiere of "Desperate Housewives" stood as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program (12.8 million). "Housewives" won its 9 o'clock time slot with all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), registering as Sunday's No. 1 TV show on all 3 counts.

· "Desperate Housewives" was up 5% among Adults 18-49 from where it finished out last season on its May finale (4.2/10 vs. 4.0/10 on 5/16/10), outperforming its 2010 May Sweep averages in both viewers (+6% - 12.8 million vs. 12.1 million) and young adults (+8% - 4.2/10 vs. 3.9/10). "Housewives" drew its biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 rating in nearly 9 months - since 1/10/10.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and CBS' special premiere of "Undercover Boss" in the time slot, ABC's 5th-season premiere of "Brothers & Sisters" finished No. 1 in the 10 o'clock hour across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Brothers & Sisters" was up over its year-ago season opener among Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 9.4 million), while retaining 100% of its Adult 18-49 delivery year to year (3.0/8). The ABC drama also built on last season's opener with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· Like its lead-in, "Brothers & Sisters" picked up where it left off last season, outperforming its May 2010 by 8% in Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 8.9 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 2.6/7). In fact the ABC drama posted its highest Adult 18-49 since January - since 1/10/10.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 38% currently, from 32% at the same point in 2009.

More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 9/26/10.





  [september 2010]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.

[10/14/25 - 02:50 PM]
ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers
The Mariners victory over the Blue Jays averaged 5,310,000 viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services.

[10/14/25 - 02:39 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched LDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014
On Friday, 8,723,000 viewers tuned in for the Mariners' historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory.

[10/14/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, As Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC "SNF."