Primetime Ratings Report For the week of April 24-30, 2006
ABC is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, Claiming 2 of the
Week�s Top 5 Television Programs in the Key Adult 18-49 Sales Demographic
ABC Emerges as the Dominant No. 1 Network During the 2005-06 TV Season
With Upscale Young Adults, Leading NBC by 13%, Fox by 16% and CBS by 19%
ABC�s �Boston Legal� Draws its Largest Audience in 6 Weeks
And Marks its Strongest Adult 18-49 Number in 7 Weeks
On Wednesday, ABC�s �Lost: Reckoning� Clip Show Earns Second in its
9 O�clock Time Slot, Moving up to First-Place at 9:30pm Among Viewers
�Invasion� Grows its Audience Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults
With its Strongest Adult 18-49 Performance in 7 Weeks, ABC Dominates the
First Sunday of the May Sweep and Logs its 14th Week at No. 1 on the Night
Dominating Sunday from 8-9pm in Adults 18-49, ABC�s �Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition� Posts its Strongest Viewer and Young Adult Numbers in 6 Weeks
Up Nicely from its Most Recent Original, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� Tops its Nearest Time Slot Competition by 6.8 Million Viewers and 154% in Adults 18-49
Sunday at 10pm, ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� Outdraws Second-Place CBS by
5.8 Million Viewers and Beats CBS and NBC Combined by 56% in Adults 18-49
WEEK No. 32:
ABC took second place to Fox during the week of April 24, 2006 among Adults 18-34 (2.6/8), Men 18-34 (1.9/6-tie), Women 18-34 (3.3/10), Teens 12-17 (1.5/6) and Kids 2-11 (1.1/4-tie). The Network was up week to week by 4% in Total Viewers (8.2 million vs. 7.9 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9 vs. 2.8/8).
� Season-to-date � Upscale Adults 18-49 in Homes with $100K+ Annual Income: Approaching the Upfront sales presentations and scheduling announcements in mid-May, it�s important to note that ABC has emerged as the definitive No. 1 network during the 2005-06 TV Season among advertiser-coveted upscale viewers in Nielsen�s top annual income category of $100K+. Based on regular programming among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ annual income, ABC has moved into first place, up from second place last season and jumping from fourth place two seasons ago. Season to date, ABC (4.4 rating) is the dominant No. 1 network this season with upscale Adults 18-49, beating perennial leader NBC by +13% (3.9), Fox by +16% (3.8) and CBS by +19% (3.7). In addition ABC claims 6 of the Top 20 highest-rated TV series this season among upscale young adults, including 3 of the Top 6 shows: �Desperate Housewives� (12.4) � No. 3, �Grey�s Anatomy� (10.9) � No. 4, �Lost� (8.4) � No. 6, �MNF� (6.6) � No. 10, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (6.5) � No. 12 and �Dancing With the Stars� (5.9) � No. 15.
Rankings: ABC aired 4 of the week�s Top 20 TV programs in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, including 2 of the Top 5. �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 4, �Desperate Housewives� � No. 5, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 9 and �Lost: Reckoning� � No. 18. In addition, �Desperate Housewives� (No. 5) and �Grey�s Anatomy� (No. 6) ranked among the most-watched television programs of the week. �Grey�s Anatomy� stood as the No. 1 scripted series during the week among Adults 18-34.
Tuesday
�Hope & Faith�/�Less than Perfect� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
�Hope & Faith� (5.6 million & 2.1/5) saw increases from its week-ago time period premiere (5.4 million & 2.0/5). Holding all of its young adult lead-in, �Less than Perfect� (5.4 million & 2.1/5) also posted gains from its season premiere the prior week (4.5 million vs. 1.8/4).
�Boston Legal� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Finishing second in the hour in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC�s �Boston Legal� drew its largest audience (10.1 million) in 6 weeks and strongest young adult performance (3.1/8) in 7 weeks � since 3/14/06 and 3/7/06, respectively.
Wednesday
�Lost� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
ABC�s telecast of �Lost: Reckoning,� a clip show of the program, finished second in the hour in both Total Viewers (12.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.5/11). The telecast increased by 1.2 million viewers (11.3 million to 12.5 million) and by 14% among Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 to 4.8/12) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour. With the release of �American Idol� viewers at 9:30 p.m., �Lost� won its second half-hour among Total Viewers (12.5 million), Adults 25-54 (5.8/13), Men 18-49 (4.2/11) and Teens 12-17 (2.9/9).
�Invasion� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
In the final hour of primetime, ABC�s �Invasion� posted week-to-week gains in Total Viewers (7.4 million vs. 7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.6/7).
Sunday
ABC dominated the first Sunday of the 2006 May Sweep, beating its nearest competitors on the evening by 2.0 million viewers (16.0 million vs. 14.0 million - CBS) and by 103% in Adults 18-49 (6.7/17 vs. 3.3/9 - Fox). For the third straight week, ABC ranked No. 1 during all 4 hours on Sunday night in Adults 18-49.
� ABC marked its 14th consecutive week as the top-rated network on Sunday in the Adult 18-49 sales demographic, continuing to deliver its longest winning streak on the evening in at least 15 years � since at least September 1991, the start of Nielsen�s electronic database.
� ABC aired the Top 3 TV shows on Sunday among Adults 18-49, with �Grey�s Anatomy,� �Desperate Housewives� and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.� �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy� were the Top 2 most-watched programs on the night.
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition � 7P� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
A 7 o�clock installment of �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� ranked a definitive No. 1 in Adults 18-49, outdistancing second-place Fox in the hour by 12% (2.8/9 vs. 2.5/8).
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC�s �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� dominated its regular 8:00-9:00 p.m. time period in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic. �Home Edition� beat out second-place Fox�s combination of �The Simpsons� and the season finale of �The War at Home� by 40% (5.6/15 vs. 4.0/10). The broad appealing ABC unscripted program ranked as the No. 1 show on Sunday evening among Kids 2-11 (3.5/12).
� �Home Edition� produced its largest audience (14.0 million) and top Adult 18-49 rating (5.6/15) in 6 weeks � since 3/19/06.
�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
The most-watched television program on Sunday, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� overshadowed its 9 o�clock time period competition. In the hour, �Desperate Housewives� outdistanced its closest competition by 6.8 million viewers (21.3 million vs. 14.6 million � CBS� Sunday Movie) and by 154% in Adults 18-49 (8.9/20 vs. 3.5/8 � Fox�s �Family Guy�/�American Dad�).
� Versus the most recent original telecast, �Desperate Housewives� was up by 1.3 million viewers and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (20.0 million viewers and 7.9/19 in AD18-49 on 4/16/06).
�Grey�s Anatomy� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� delivered a commanding victory during the 10 o�clock hour. �Grey�s Anatomy� outdrew second-place CBS by 5.8 million viewers (20.8 million vs. 15.0 million) and outdistanced the combined deliveries of CBS (�Sunday Movie�) and NBC (�Crossing Jordan�) in the hour by 56% among Adults 18-49 (9.7/23 vs. 6.2/14).
� Original episodes of �Grey�s Anatomy� have built on original episodes of �Desperate Housewives� among Adults 18-49 on all 5 airings since �Grey�s� post-�Super Bowl� telecast (2/5/06). It has also been the top-rated TV show of the night in Adults 18-49 on each of its original broadcasts since the �Super Bowl.�
Source: Nielsen Media Research (Live+SD), week of 4/24/06, or as dated. NAD (Adults 18-49 in Homes w/$100K+ Annual Income), 9/19/05-4/23/06 vs. 9/20/04-4/24/05, based on regular programming.
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