Primetime Ratings Report For the week of September 19-25, 2005
ABC Wins the First Week of the Official 2005-06 TV Season in
Adults 18-49, its First Time to Lead the Opening Week in 10 Years
ABC Grows by 2.3 Million Viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49 from Last Year,
Marking the Network�s Most-Watched Season Opening Week in 5 Years
ABC Airs 6 of the Top 10 TV Shows of the Week in Adults 18-49,
The Most for Any Network During Season Premiere Week in 3 Years
ABC Tops Monday, the First Night of 2005-06 TV Season, Beating its
Closest Competition by 1.1 Million Viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49
Marking its Strongest Season Opening Wednesday in a Decade, ABC
Wins the Night by 8.7 Million Viewers and by 117% in Adults 18-49
Hitting Series Highs Across the Board and Overshadowing its Competition, �Lost� Earns the Top Adult 18-49 Rating for Any Wednesday Season Premiere in 12 Years
In its Series Debut, �Invasion� Dominates NBC�s �Law & Order,� Representing
ABC�s Best Numbers for a Scripted Telecast Wednesday at 10pm in the Last 5 Seasons
ABC Logs its Most-Watched Season Opening Thursday in 4 Years, as �Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off Results� Outdraws NBC�s Season Premiere of �The Apprentice�
ABC Wins the First Sunday of the Season in Viewers and Young Adults,
Delivering its Strongest Season Opening Sunday Numbers in 10 Years
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� Takes a Commanding Lead Sunday at 8pm,
Beating its Nearest Competitor by 53% in the Key Adult 18-49 Sales Demo
Up by 6.8 Million Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49 from its Year-ago Debut, �Desperate Housewives� Becomes ABC�s Top Fall Season Premiere in 9 Years
With Strong Gains from its March Series Debut, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy�
Dominates the Sunday 10 O�clock Hour in Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
WEEK No. 1:
ABC won the opening week of the 2005-06 TV Season in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, representing its first time accomplishing this feat in the last decade � since the first week of the 1995-96 season. Among Adults 18-49 during the week, ABC (4.7/12) topped CBS by 15% (4.1/11), NBC by 38% (3.4/9) and Fox by 68% (2.8/8). In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC won Monday, Wednesday and Sunday nights among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
� ABC�s delivery jumped from the opening week of last season (w/o 9/20/04), growing by 2.3 million viewers (12.3 million vs. 10.0 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/12 vs. 3.9/11). The Net produced its strongest season opening week numbers 5 years among Total Viewers and in 4 years among Adults 18-49 � since the starts of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, respectively.
Rankings: ABC aired 6 of the Top 10 highest-rated TV shows during the week in Adults 18-49, including 5 of the Top 6 shows: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Lost� � No. 2 (tie), �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 4, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 5, �Invasion� � No. 6 and �Monday Night Football� � No. 9. ABC placed the highest number of programs in the Top 10 for any network during season premiere week in 3 years � since NBC placed 6 of the Top 10 in 2002-03. ABC claimed 5 shows in the week�s Top 10 among Total Viewers: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 2, �Lost� � No. 3, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 6, �Invasion� � No. 9 and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� No. 10.
Monday
ABC won the first night of the official 2005-06 TV Season in Total Viewers (15.8 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (5.4/16), Adults 18-49 (6.2/16) and Adults 25-54 (7.0/17). During primetime ABC beat second-place CBS, with its Monday season premiere lineup, by 1.1 million viewers and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 14.7 million viewers & 5.0/12 in Adults 18-49).
� Compared to the first night of last season, ABC�s delivery grew by 13% in Total Viewers and by 7% among Adults 18-49 (Monday 9/20/04 = 14.0 million & 5.8/16).
�Monday Night Football Special: New Orleans vs. NY Giants� (7:30-9:00 p.m.)
ABC�s special coverage of the New Orleans Saints-NY Giants NFL game drew an average audience of 13.6 million viewers and a 5.3/16 in Adults 18-49 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Please Note: Disney-owned ABC and ESPN shared coverage of the NFL contest, as carriage of the game switched from broadcast to cable at 9:00 p.m. (ET) in most markets.
�Monday Night Football: Washington vs. Dallas� (9:07-11:58 p.m.)
ABC�s �NFL Monday Night Football,� with a contest between the Redskins and Cowboys, attracted an average audience of 16.1 million viewers and earned a 6.5 rating, 17 share among Adults 18-49. The Redskins beat the Cowboys by a score of 14-13. Please Note: These numbers include some overlap viewing with the Saints-Giants game in certain markets.
� Facing off against season premiere programming on each of the broadcast nets, �MNF� stood as the No. 1 TV show on Monday among Adults 18-34 (5.7/16) and across each of the key men demographics: Men 18-34 (7.8/23), Men 18-49 (9.0/24) and Men 25-54 (9.9/24).
Tuesday
Facing season premieres and season finales on the other networks, ABC�s special Tuesday lineup delivered its largest non-sports audience (9.1 million) on the night in over 6 months � since 3/8/05. Please Note: On Tuesday (9/27/05), ABC will air the series debut of �Commander In Chief,� followed by the season opener of �Boston Legal,� from 9:00-11:00 p.m.
�According to Jim� (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
In its fifth season premiere, ABC�s �According to Jim� earned second place in its new 8:00 p.m. time period among Total Viewers (8.1 million).
� �According to Jim� produced ABC�s largest audience (8.1 million) in the time slot in over 8 months and its top Adult 18-49 number (2.6/8) in more than 6 months � since 1/11/05 and 3/8/05, respectively.
�Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off� (8:30-10:01 p.m.)
ABC�s special �Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off� drew an average audience of 10.9 million viewers, the Net�s biggest non-sports audience in the time period since March � since 3/1/05. Although the show faced stiff competition for young adults, �Dance-off� equaled ABC�s top non-sports Adult 18-49 delivery (2.8/7) in the time period in 6 months � since 3/29/05.
� Building on its lead-in, �Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off� gained audience throughout its 90-minute telecast. From start to finish, the show�s audience grew by 2.6 million viewers (9.5 million to 12.1 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 to 3.1/7).
Wednesday
ABC delivered a dominant victory on the first Wednesday of the season, beating its nearest competitors on the night by 8.7 million viewers (18.4 million vs. 9.7 million � NBC) and by 117% in Adults 18-49 (7.6/20 vs. 3.5/9 � CBS). ABC won each half-hour of the evening, claiming the Top 3 TV shows of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with the second season premiere of �Lost,� the series debut of �Invasion� and the �Destination Lost� special.
� ABC produced its strongest season opening Wednesday night in 10 years among Total Viewers and in 9 years among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 � since 9/20/95 and 9/18/96, respectively.
� It was the Net�s strongest performance on the evening since November 2002 (11/20/02) in Total Viewers, and its best number on the night since February 2003 (2/19/03) in Adults 18-49.
�Destination Lost� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
A special clip show recapping the first season of �Lost� drove ABC to a strong No. 1 in the opening hour of Wednesday�s primetime. In the hour, �Destination Lost� defeated NBC�s high-profile series debut of �The Apprentice: Martha Stewart� by 8.2 million viewers (15.3 million vs. 7.1 million) and by 157% in Adults 18-49 (5.9/17 vs. 2.3/7). In fact, ABC topped the combined delivery of NBC and CBS, each with series premieres in the hour, in the key young adult sales demo (5.9/17 vs. 4.7/14 CBS and NBC combined).
�Lost� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Surging from its healthy lead-in, the second season opener of ABC�s �Lost� overshadowed its nearest time period competition, CBS �C.S.I.� special, by 14.1 million viewers (23.5 million vs. 9.4 million) and by 200% in Adults 18-49 (10.2/25 vs. 3.4/8).
� �Lost� achieved series highs in viewers, across each of the adult demographics and among teens. The show was up dramatically from its year-ago series debut, growing by 4.8 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (18.7 million & 6.8/20 on 9/22/04).
� In terms of a Wednesday scripted season premiere, on any network, �Lost� opened with the highest Adult 18-49 rating in 12 years � since 9/21/94. In Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, it was the top opening score on the night in 5 years � since 10/4/00.
�Invasion� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
The series debut of ABC�s �Invasion� posted a commanding win in its time period, besting the second-place networks by 3.4 million viewers (16.4 million vs. 13.0 million � NBC�s �Law & Order�) and by 48% in Adults 18-49 (6.8/17 vs. 4.6/12 � CBS�s �C.S.I.�).
� In Total Viewers (16.4 million) and Adults 25-54 (8.0/18), �Invasion� produced ABC�s strongest numbers in the time period since December 2003 (12/10/03). It was the best score in the slot among Adults 18-49 since May 2004 (5/19/04). The show marked the Net�s strongest numbers with a scripted show in the time period in the last 5 seasons � prior to the 2000-01 season, ABC aired newsmagazines in the hour.
Thursday
ABC�s Thursday night delivery was up by 1.6 million viewers (8.2 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 10% among Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.0/5) over its performance on the same night a year ago (9/23/04). It was the Network�s most-watched season opening Thursday in 4 years and its top among Adults 18-49 in 2 years � since 2001 and 2003, respectively.
�Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off Results Show� (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in by over 2 million viewers, ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars: Dance-off Results Show� earned second place at 9:00 p.m. among Total Viewers, outdrawing the opening half-hour of NBC�s season premiere of �The Apprentice� by 1.3 million viewers (10.5 million vs. 9.2 million). In fact, with 10.3 million viewers, ABC�s �Dance-off Results Show� was watched by more people than the Thursday season premieres of NBC�s �Joey� (7.8 million) and �The Apprentice� (9.9 million). John O�Hurley won the popular vote for the �Dance-off.�
� The results show delivered ABC�s largest non-sports audience and top Adult 18-49 rating (2.6/6) in the time period in 7 months � best since 2/24/05.
�Primetime� (9:30-11:00 p.m.)
ABC News� �Primetime� was up by 1.1 million viewers (7.5 million vs. 6.4 million), by 15% among Adults 18-49 (2.3/6 vs. 2.0/5) and by 16% among Adults 25-54 (2.8/6 vs. 2.4/6) over its delivery on the same night last year (9/23/04).
Friday
ABC earned second place on Friday among Adults 18-49 (2.4/8), while leading the night by a sizeable 24% among Adults 18-34 (2.1/8 vs. 1.7/6 � CBS). The Network also delivered the No. 1 position on the evening among Women 18-34 (2.9/10).
� ABC marked its highest Adult 18-34 rating on the night in the last 7 months � since 2/25/05.
�Supernanny� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In its season opener, ABC�s �Supernanny� took second place in its hour among Adults 18-34 (1.7/7) and ranked No. 1 among Women 18-34 (2.3/8-tie). From start to finish, �Supernanny� grew by 14% in Total Viewers (5.1 million to 5.8 million) and by 25% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6 to 2.0/7), making ABC the biggest percentage gainer among young adults in the hour.
�Supernanny SP 9/23� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
A second episode of ABC�s �Supernanny� built nicely on its lead-in to win the time period among Adults 18-34 (2.4/9), Women 18-49 (3.6/10) and Women 18-34 (3.5/12). Among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), the show nearly tied for first-place in the hour with CBS� �Threshold� (2.5/8) and NBC�s �Three Wishes� (2.5/8). �Supernanny� was the No. 1 TV show on the night in its core demographic of Women 18-34.
�20/20� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC News� �20/20� took first place in the 10 o�clock hour in Adults 18-34 (2.2/8), as it defeated the season premiere of CBS� �Numbers� by 22% (1.8/7) and the series debut of NBC�s �Inconceivable� by 22% (1.8/7). The ABC newsmagazine ran a close second in the hour among Adults 18-49 (2.9/9), just one-tenth of a rating point out of a tie for the No. 1 position with CBS� �Numbers� (3.0/9).
� �20/20� pulled in its top numbers since May (5/13/05) in Total Viewers (8.5 million), Adults 25-54 (3.5/9) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/9).
Sunday
ABC delivered a dominant first-place finish on the opening Sunday of the season, defeating second-place CBS by 3.6 million viewers (18.3 million vs. 14.7 million) and by 81% in Adults 18-49 (7.8/19 vs. 4.3/11). Making ABC�s winning advantages on the night even more impressive was the fact that CBS had a high-rated NFL football overrun well into the first hour of prime. ABC also ranked No. 1 on the night among Adults 25-54 (8.8/19) and Adults 18-34 (6.8/19), capturing nearly 1/5 of the available television audience in both demographics.
� ABC aired the Top 3 TV shows on Sunday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with �Desperate Housewives,� �Grey�s Anatomy� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.�
� ABC was up by nearly 6 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 over its performance on the first Sunday last season (12.4 million and 5.2/14 on 9/26/04). In viewers and across the adult demos, ABC marked its strongest season opening Sunday night in 10 years � since 1995.
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition � 9/25� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
A special 7 o�clock installment of �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� placed a solid second to CBS� football overrun in the hour in Total Viewers (9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.6/10).
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In its regular time period premiere, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� moved ABC into the No. 1 position in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, beating second-place Fox by 53% (6.9/17 vs. 4.5/11). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted show also took first-place in its time period among Total Viewers (16.4 million), Adults 25-54 (7.7/16), Adults 18-34 (5.8/16) and Kids 2-11 (3.4/12).
�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
The second season premiere of ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� drew an average audience of 28.4 million viewers and a 12.3 rating, 26 share in Adults 18-49. �Desperate Housewives� more than doubled the audience of its closest competitor (28.4 million vs. 13.0 million � CBS) and topped its combined network competition in the time slot (CBS, NBC, Fox and WB) by 10% among Adults 18-49 (12.3/26 vs. 11.2/25). The show drew its second-largest audience ever, trailing only its first season finale (5/22/05).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Desperate Housewives� stands as ABC�s strongest fall season premiere in 9 years � since the season openers of �Home Improvement� of �Spin City� on 9/17/96, respectively.
� �Desperate Housewives� was up over its year-ago series debut by 6.8 million viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (21.6 million and 8.9/21 on 10/3/04).
� In Adults 18-49, �Housewives� ranks as the top-rated scripted season opener on any network in 3 years � since �ER� in September 2002.
�Grey�s Anatomy� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
The second season premiere of ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� delivered a convincing first-place finish in the 10 o�clock hour. �Grey�s Anatomy� bested second-place NBC by almost 6 million viewers (19.0 million vs. 13.1 million), while beating its combined NBC and CBS competition in the hour by 46% in Adults 18-49 (8.3/20 vs. 5.7/14) and by 24% in Adults 25-54 (9.4/21 vs. 7.6/18).
� Versus its series debut last March, �Grey�s Anatomy� grew by 2.8 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (16.2 million & 7.2/18 on 3/27/05). The drama was up 19% among Adults 25-54 (9.4/21 vs. 7.6/17) from its mid-season premiere.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, week of 9/19/05, or as dated.
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