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[10/04/05 - 12:00 AM]
Primetime Ratings Report for the Week of SepT. 26 - OcT. 2, 2005

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of Sept. 26 � Oct. 2, 2005

ABC Ranks No. 1 for the Second Straight Week in Adults 18-49, Leading The First 2 Weeks of the Season for the First Time Since the 1994-95 Season

ABC Airs 5 of the Top 10 TV Shows in Adults 18-49, Including 3 in the Top 4

ABC is Up by 1.3 Million Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 Over Last Season

�Wife Swap� Grows from its Season Premiere, Continuing to Improve its New Time Slot for ABC in Viewers and Young Adults

The Debut of �Commander In Chief� is Tuesday�s Most-Watched TV Show, Qualifying as the Night�s Most-Watched Drama Debut on Any Net in 5 Years

�Boston Legal� Pulls in ABC�s Top Series Numbers Tuesdays at 10pm Since March

Wednesday�s No. 1 TV Show, ABC�s �Lost� Dominates its 9 O�clock Time Slot with its Second-Highest Numbers Ever

ABC�s �Invasion� is No. 1 in the Wednesday 10 O�clock Hour, Defeating CBS� Season Opener of �C.S.I.: NY� and NBC�s �Law & Order� Among Adults 18-49

In its Fifth Season Premiere on its New Day and Time, �Alias� Delivers ABC�s Most-Watched Series Telecast in the Time Period Since November 2003

Building on its Adult 18-49 Lead and Gaining Audience from Start to Finish, �Night Stalker� Qualifies as ABC�s Top Scripted Series Debut on Thursday in Over 5 Years

The Third Season Opener of �Hope & Faith� Puts ABC into the No. 1 Position on Friday from 9-10pm in Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34

In its 16th Season Premiere, �America�s Funniest Home Videos� Grows By 2.2 Million Viewers and by 37% in Adults 18-49 Over its Year-ago Opener

Sunday�s No. 1 TV Show, �Desperate Housewives� Dominates its Time Period, Posting the Series� Second-Highest Numbers Ever in Women 18-49 and Women 18-34

ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� Dominates Sunday at 10pm in Viewers and Adults, Topping the Combined Deliveries of NBC and CBS by 23% Among Adults 18-49

WEEK No. 2:

For the second week in a row, ABC ranked as the No. 1 network across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (3.3/10 - tie) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11) and Adults 25-54 (4.9/12). In fact, ABC won the first 2 weeks of the season in the key Adults 18-49 sales demo for the first time since the start of the 1994-95 season.

� On average, ABC is up over the first two weeks of last season by 1.3 million viewers (11.7 million vs. 10.4 million) and by 10% among Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 4.0/11).

Rankings: ABC aired 5 of the Top 10 highest-rated TV shows during the week in Adults 18-49, including 3 of the Top 4 programs: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Lost� � No. 2, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 4, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 7 and �Monday Night Football� � No. 10. ABC placed 4 shows in the week�s Top 10 in Total Viewers: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 2, �Lost� � No. 3, �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 5 and �Commander In Chief� � No. 9. In addition, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� was the No. 1 TV program of the week in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across the women demographics, while ABC�s �Lost� qualified as the No. 1 television show in Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Teens 12-17. For the second week in a row, ABC�s �Home Edition� was the No. 1 unscripted show of the week, topping CBS� �Survivor: Guatemala� in the key Adult 18-49 demographic. It was also the highest-rated broadcast of the week among Kids 2-11. ABC News� �20/20� was the No. 1 newsmagazine during the week in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Monday

ABC won Monday night among Adults 18-49 (4.7/12), beating second-place CBS by 4% (4.5/11), third-place NBC by 18% (4.0/10) and fourth-place Fox by 62% (2.9/7). It is ABC�s 4th straight week to win Monday�s primetime race in Adults 18-49. ABC also ranked as the No. 1 network on Monday night in Adults 18-34 (4.4/13).

�Wife Swap� (8:00-9:00 p.m. Note: �Wife Swap� airs at various times across the U.S.)*

In its second-ever telecast in its new time period, ABC�s �Wife Swap� grew in both Total Viewers (7.0 million vs. 6.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.6/8) over its premiere two weeks ago. Competitively, �Wife Swap� won its time period for the 2nd consecutive telecast among its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.0/9).

� From start to finish, �Wife Swap� gained 12% in Total Viewers (6.6 million to 7.4 million) and 21% among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 to 2.9/8).

� In its two telecasts in the hour, �Wife Swap� has improved the time period for ABC. Versus ABC�s delivery last season in the time period with regular programming during the run of �Monday Night Football,� �Wife Swap� has boosted the Net�s delivery by 2.0 million viewers (6.8 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 69% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 1.6/5).

�Monday Night Football: Kansas City at Denver� (9:07 p.m. -12:02 a.m.)

ABC�s coverage of �NFL Monday Night Football,� featuring the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Denver Broncos, attracted an average audience of 13.6 million viewers and earned a 5.5 rating, 14 share among Adults 18-49. It turned out to be a one-sided contest, with Denver leading 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and ultimately beating Kansas City by a final score of 30-10.

� ABC�s �MNF� qualified as the No. 1 TV show of the night among Adults 18-34 (5.3/15) and across each of the key men demographics: Men 18-34 (6.9/20), Men 18-49 (7.4/20) and Men 25-54 (8.2/20).

*Due to the fact that �NFL Monday Night Football� is a live event, �Wife Swap� is at a time period clearance disadvantage as compared to other network programs that air in-pattern from 8:00-9:00 p.m. across the country. �Wife Swap� airs prior to the start of football in the Eastern and Central Time zones, and in various time periods following football and local programming in the Mountain and Pacific Time zones.

Tuesday

ABC ranked as the most-watched network on Tuesday night (12.3 million), with strong openings for the series debut of �Commander In Chief� and the second season return of �Boston Legal.�

� ABC produced its largest non-sports audience on the night in nearly 2 years � since 11/11/03.

�According to Jim� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �According to Jim� earned second place in its time period among Total Viewers (8.1 million) and Adults 25-54 (3.5/9), while ranking No. 1 with Kids 2-11 (1.2/5-tie).

� �According to Jim� was up by 12% among Adults 18-49 from its week-earlier season premiere (2.9/8 vs. 2.6/8).

�Commander In Chief� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in and throughout its telecast, ABC�s series debut of �Commander In Chief� soared to the top of its hour, outdrawing its closest competitor by 3.0 million viewers (16.4 million vs. 13.4 million � Fox�s �House�). The new ABC drama also ranked No. 1 in the time period in Adults 25-54 (5.8/13 - tie). ABC finished in a 3-way tie for second in the hour among Adults 18-49 (4.3/10) with CBS and NBC. �Commander In Chief� stood as the most-watched TV show on Tuesday.

� �Commander In Chief� attracted the largest audience for any drama series debut on Tuesday night in nearly 5 years � since 10/3/00.

� With the premiere, ABC attracted its biggest non-sports audience to the time period in 5 years � since 10/10/00. It was ABC�s top non-sports Adult 18-49 number in the time period since October 2004 � since 10/26/04.

� �Commander In Chief� generated enormous tune-in for ABC in the 9:00 p.m. hour, building on its lead-in by 8.3 million viewers and by 48% in Adults 18-49. From start to finish, the new drama gained 1.5 million viewers (15.6 million to 17.1 million) and 15% among Adults 18-49 (4.0/10 to 4.6/11).

�Boston Legal� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In its second season opener, ABC�s �Boston Legal� generated ABC�s largest audience (12.4 million) and its top non-sports Adult 18-49 (3.4/9) and Adult 18-54 (4.6/10) ratings in the hour since March � since 3/1/05, 3/22/05 and 3/8/05, respectively.

� �Boston Legal� delivered greatly improved retention of its lead-in in its new Tuesday 10 o�clock time period over what it had done on Sunday night last season. �Boston Legal� held on to nearly 80% of its �Commander In Chief� lead-in among viewers (76%) and young adults (79%), as opposed to 56% in Total Viewers and 49% in Adults 18-49 when it followed �Desperate Housewives� last season.

Wednesday

For the second consecutive week ABC was the network leader on Wednesday night, outpacing second-place CBS on the evening by nearly 5 million viewers (15.8 million vs. 10.9 million) and by 80% in Adults 18-49 (6.3/17 vs. 3.5/9). ABC delivered an across-the-board victory on the night, also leading among Adults 25-54 (7.6/18), Adults 18-34 (5.2/15), Teens 12-17 (3.5/12) and Kids 2-11 (1.7/8).

�Lost - RS� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

A special repeat airing of the prior week�s season premiere episode of ABC�s �Lost� won the opening hour of Wednesday�s primetime, beating its original competition. In the hour, the replay �Lost� outdistanced its nearest competitors by 3.3 million viewers (12.0 million vs. 8.7 million - CBS) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (4.2/12 vs. 2.8/8 � CBS and Fox tied). Week 2 of NBC�s �The Apprentice: Martha Stewart� placed fourth in the hour (6.1 million & 2.1/6). �Lost� delivered its second-highest repeat numbers ever.

�Lost� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Lost� asserted its dominance in its new time period among viewers and young adults (23.2 million & 9.7/24), holding wide advantages over the other nets� programming, including drama competition from CBS� �Criminal Minds� (10.6 million & 3.3/8) and NBC�s �E-Ring� (7.7 million & 2.1/5). In fact on both measures, ABC beat the combined deliveries of the CBS and NBC dramas in the hour. �Lost� stood as the No. 1 TV show of the night across all relevant demographic categories, including viewers, adults, teens and kids.

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Lost� generated its second-strongest numbers ever, behind only its week-ago second season opener.

�Invasion� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Invasion� won its time period among Adults 18-49 (5.1/13), beating out the season premiere of CBS� �C.S.I.: NY� (4.5/12) and NBC�s �Law & Order� (4.8/12), which was a cross-over episode with �Law & Order: SVU� from the previous night. The new ABC drama also delivered the No. 1 position in the 10 o�clock hour among Adults 25-54 (6.0/14) and Adults 18-34 (4.5/13). �Invasion� stood as the No. 2 TV program of the night across each of the key adult demos, trailing only �Lost.�

� On average, �Invasion� has improved ABC�s delivery in the time period by 58% in Total Viewers (14.4 million vs. 9.1 million), by 58% in Adults 18-49 (6.0/15 vs. 3.8/10) and by 63% in Adults 25-54 (7.0/16 vs. 4.3/10) over the Net�s average with regular programming last season.

Thursday

With the season premiere of �Alias� and the series debut of �Night Stalker,� ABC equaled its top non-sports Thursday among Adults 18-49 (2.2/6) in over 6 months � 3/17/05.

�Alias� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

In its fifth season premiere on its new day and time, �Alias� generated ABC�s largest audience (8.2 million) and top Adult 18-49 rating (2.5/7) in the time slot since February � 2/24/05. In addition, �Alias� was ABC�s most-watched series telecast in the time period in nearly 2 years � since 11/6/03.

� From its first to second half-hour, �Alias� grew its audience 8% among young adults (2.4/7 to 2.6/7).

�Night Stalker� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Against competition including CBS� �C.S.I.,� the series debut of �Night Stalker� built on its Adult 18-49 lead-in by 4%. In the hour, �Night Stalker� produced ABC�s best Adult 18-49 (2.6/6) number with regular programming in more than 7 months � since 2/10/05. ABC�s �Night Stalker� beat its freshman drama competition in the hour, Fox�s �Reunion,� by 2.5 million viewers (7.1 million vs. 4.6 million) and by 13% among Adults 18-49 (2.6/6 vs. 2.3/6).

� Among Adults 18-49, �Nigh Stalker� qualifies as ABC�s highest-rated scripted series debut on Thursday in more than 5 years � since 3/3/00.

� Like its lead-in, �Night Stalker� gained audience from start to finish in Total Viewers (7.1 million to 7.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/6 to 2.6/6).

Friday

ABC took second place on Friday night among Total Viewers (7.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/7). For the second straight week, ABC stood as the No. 1 network on Friday among Adults 18-34 (1.6/6).

�Supernanny� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

On its second regular telecast on its new day and time, ABC�s �Supernanny� took second place in its hour among Adults 18-49 (1.9/7) and ranked No. 1 among its core audience segment of Women 18-34 (2.3/9). From start to finish, �Supernanny� gained 10% in Total Viewers (5.8 million to 6.4 million) and 24% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 to 2.1/7).

� �Supernanny� was up from its week-earlier season premiere in the hour by 15% among viewers (6.1 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/7 vs. 1.7/6).

�Hope & Faith� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

In its third season premiere, ABC�s �Hope & Faith� ranked No. 1 in the hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/7-tie) and Adults 18-34 (1.5/6). The ABC family comedy also won the hour across each of the key women demographics: W18-34 (2.4/8), W18-49 (3.4/10) and W25-54 (4.3/11).

� From start to finish, �Hope & Faith� built its audience, growing by 10% among Total Viewers (7.2 million to 7.9 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 to 2.5/8).

� �Hope & Faith� drew its largest audience (7.5 million) since February, while tying its top Adult 18-49 rating since the beginning of March � since 2/18/05 and 3/4/05, respectively.

�20/20� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC News� �20/20� earned second place in the 10 o�clock hour, beating out third-place NBC�s �Inconceivable� by 3.6 million viewers (8.2 million vs. 4.6 million) and by 67% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/8 vs. 1.5/5).

Sunday

For the second consecutive week, ABC ranked as the No. 1 network on Sunday night. During primetime, ABC topped its nearest competition by 5.1 million viewers (17.0 million vs. 11.9 million - CBS) and by 40% in Adults 18-49 (7.3/18 vs. 5.2/13 - Fox). Similarly to last week, there was a high-rated NFL football overrun that went well into the first hour of prime with the late afternoon game on Fox. ABC also won the evening among Adults 25-54 (8.1/18) and Adults 18-34 (6.4/18).

� ABC claimed the Top 3 TV shows on Sunday in the advertiser-coveted Adult 18-49 demographic, with �Desperate Housewives,� �Grey�s Anatomy� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.� In addition, �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy� qualified as the two most-watched television shows of the night.

� ABC continued to post impressive gains over last year�s Sunday night performance. Compared to the same night last year (which included the series debut of �Desperate Housewives�), ABC was up by 2.7 million viewers and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (14.3 million & 5.5/15 on 10/3/05).

�America�s Funniest Home Videos� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

The 16th season premiere of �America�s Funniest Home Videos� was the top non-sports program in its time period among Adults 18-49 (2.6/8), as it competed against the NFL overrun on Fox.

� The venerable ABC video clip show was up by 2.3 million viewers (8.4 million vs. 6.1 million) and by 37% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/8 vs. 1.9/6) from its season premiere last year (on 9/26/04). In its season opener, �AFHV� marked the series� strongest performance since last April � since 4/24/05.

�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� moved ABC up into the No. 1 position during the second hour of the night in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, beating second-place Fox by 32% (6.2/15 vs. 4.7/12). The broad skewing ABC unscripted show also took first place in its time period among Adults 25-54 (6.8/15) and Kids 2-11 (3.4/12).

�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� attracted and average audience of 27.1 million viewers and delivered a 12.0 rating, 27 share in Adults 18-49. For the second straight week �Desperate Housewives� more than doubled the audience of its closest competitor (27.1 million vs. 12.4 million � NBC) and outdelivered its combined network competition in the time slot among Adults 18-49 (12.0/27 vs. 11.0/25 - CBS, NBC, Fox and WB combined).

� Growing from its season premiere among young women, �Desperate Housewives� posted its second-highest ratings ever among Women 18-49 (16.1/34) and Women 18-34 (14.8/35).

�Grey�s Anatomy� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� led the 10 o�clock hour by wide margins. In the hour, �Grey�s Anatomy� defeated second-place NBC by 5.2 million viewers (17.6 million vs. 12.4 million) and outdrew its combined NBC and CBS competition by 23% in Adults 18-49 (8.1/20 vs. 6.6/15). The sophomore ABC drama also beat its combined network competition among Adults 25-54 (9.0/20 vs. 8.2/19).

Source: Nielsen Media Research, week of 9/26/05, or as dated.





  [october 2005]  
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M
T
W
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F
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· ACCORDING TO JIM (ABC)
· ALIAS (ABC)
· AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (ABC)
· APPRENTICE, THE: MARTHA STEWART (NBC)
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (ABC)
· CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS)
· CSI: NEW YORK (CBS)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· E-RING (NBC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HOPE & FAITH (ABC)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· INVASION (ABC)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· LOST (ABC)
· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· NIGHT STALKER (ABC)
· REUNION (FOX)
· SUPERNANNY (LIFETIME)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· WIFE SWAP (PARAMOUNT)





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