Primetime Ratings Report For the week of September 25, 2006
ABC Wins its Second Straight Week in the Key Adult 18-49 Sales Demo,
Also Leading the Charge in Adults 18-34, Key Women, Teens and Kids
ABC Airs 7 of the Top 15 TV Programs in Adults 18-49 for the Week,
While Claiming 3 of the Top 4 Most-Watched TV Shows of the Week,
With a Big Opening for �Ugly Betty� on Thursday, ABC Now Claims the Top 2
Most-Watched Series Debuts of the Season and 3 of the Top 4 in Adults 18-49
Monday at 8pm, ABC�s �Wife Swap� is Up from its Week-Ago Season Premiere
And Up Over the Same Night Last Year in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
Tuesday�s Most-Watched Program for Third Straight Week, ABC�s �Dancing
With the Stars� Continues to Win its Time Period in Viewers and Adults 18-49
Debut of �Help Me� is TV�s Most-Watched Comedy Debut Since CBS� Bow of
�Old Christine� and ABC�s Top Comedy Telecast in its Time Period in 5 Years
�DWTS the Results Show� is Up Week to Week, Winning 8-9pm
For the Third Straight Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
ABC News� �A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters� is Wednesday�s No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 and TV�s Top Newsmagazine Telecast Since December 2005
ABC Wins its Second Straight Thursday in Adults 18-49, Beating CBS
ABC�s �Ugly Betty� Opens as the Most-Watched New TV Show of the Season,
Generating ABC�s Best Scripted Numbers in the Time Slot in Well Over 11 Years
�Grey�s Anatomy� Beats CBS� �C.S.I.� Again, Ranking as Thursday�s No. 1 TV Program
Across the Key Adult Demos; ABC�s Top Scripted Series in the Hour in Over 15 Years
ABC�s �Six Degrees� Tops CBS� �Shark� Thursday at 10pm in Adults 18-34 and
Women, Improving the Slot by 4.8 Million Viewers and by 129% in Adults 18-49
For the 4th Time in 5 Weeks, ABC Wins Saturday with its College Football Coverage
ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� Opens its 17th Season with its
Best Season Premiere Numbers in 4 Years Among Viewers and Young Adults
�Desperate Housewives� Wins the Sunday 9 O�clock Hour, Beating NBC�s
Sunday Night Football in Viewers and Across the Adult Demographics
Showing Strong Retention of its Week-Earlier Series Debut Audience, ABC�s
�Brothers & Sisters� is Again TV�s No. 1 New 10 O�clock Series in Adults 18-49
WEEK No. 2:
ABC won its second consecutive week in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic (w/o 9/25/06) in Adults 18-49 (4.0/11). ABC was also the network leader for the week among Adults 18-34 (3.4/11) and in all key women demos: W18-34 (4.5/13), W18-49 (5.3/14) & W25-54 (6.1/15). Disney-owned ABC was the top-rated broadcaster of the week with Teens 12-17 (1.9/7) and Kids 2-11 (1.4/6).
� ABC claims the top-rated new series debuts this season. With �Ugly Betty� on Thursday emerging as the most-watched new show so far this season, ABC now claims the Top 2 most-watched new show debuts and 3 of the Top 4 new shows among Adults 18-49: Total Viewers = �Ugly Betty� � No. 1 and �Brothers & Sisters� � No. 2/AD18-49 = �Brothers & Sisters� � No. 1, �Six Degrees� � No. 3 and �Ugly Betty� � No. 4 (tie).
� Although ABC did not have the benefit of �Monday Night Football� or �Lost� (premieres Wednesday, 10/4/06) in the averages this year and 9% of its schedule was still in repeat, ABC actually increased its overall audience from the same week last year for the second consecutive week (11.5 million vs. 11.1 million). ABC also posted increases from the same week last year in Adults 18-34 (+3%), across each of the women demographics (W18-34 +15%, W18-49 +10% & W25-54 +11%) and among Kids 2-11 (+17%).
� Excluding sports from the averages for the first two weeks to adjust for the loss of �MNF,� ABC was up a solid 12% in Total Viewers (12.5 million vs. 11.2 million) and 10% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/12 vs. 4.1/11) over the first two weeks of last season.
� Moving Grey's continues to pay off for ABC. On average during the first two weeks this season, ABC�s combined 9:00-11:00 p.m. averages on Thursday and Sunday have grown by 21% in Total Viewers (18.4 million vs. 15.2 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (7.5/18 vs. 6.2/15) over its performance during the first two weeks last season.
Weekly Rankings: ABC placed 7 of the Top 15 TV programs of the week in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 shows for the second week in a row, with �Grey�s Anatomy� and �Desperate Housewives�: �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 1, �Desperate Housewives� � No. 2, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 10, �Brothers & Sisters� � No. 11, �20/20 SP Edition-9/27� and �Dancing with the Stars� tied at No. 12 and �Ugly Betty� � No. 15. The Network claimed 3 of the Top 4 most-watched TV shows of the week: �Grey�s Anatomy� � No. 2, �Desperate Housewives� � No. 3 and �Dancing with the Stars� � No. 4. ABC�s �Ugly Betty� was the most-watched new show of the week and the season. For the second straight week, ABC�s �Brothers & Sisters� stood as TV�s No. 1 new 10 o�clock program in Adults 18-49. ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars� again qualified as TV�s most-watched unscripted program, continuing to outdraw CBS� �Survivor.� ABC�s �20/20 Special Edition-9/27� on Wednesday, featuring Barbara Walters� interview with Teri Irwin, ranked as the No. 1 newsmagazine during the week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49. In fact ABC News has aired TV�s No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 on 5 of the past 6 weeks.
Monday
�Wife Swap� (8:00-9:01 p.m.)
�Wife Swap� drew 7.1 million viewers and a 3.0 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49, posting increases over its season premiere the previous Monday (6.7 million & 2.9/8 in Adults 18-49) and over the same night last year (7.0 million & 2.7/8 in Adults 18-49 on 9/26/05).
� �Wife Swap� took second place in the hour across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.4/9), Women 18-49 (4.2/11) and Women 25-54 (4.5/10 � tied).
�Wife Swap� (9:01-10:02 p.m.)
Opposite the series debut of NBC�s �Heroes,� a special second episode of �Wife Swap� built on its lead-in by 11% (7.9 million vs. 7.1 million) and by 20% among Adults 18-49 (3.6/9 vs. 3.0/8). �Wife Swap� took second in the 9 o�clock hour among Adults 18-34 (3.3/9) and Women 18-49 (5.2/12 - tied).
� Head to head, ABC�s �Wife Swap� beat Fox�s �Vanished� by 1.4 million viewers (7.9 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 71% among Adults 18-49 (3.9/9 vs. 2.1/5).
Tuesday
With another impressive turnout for �Dancing with the Stars� and a strong start for �Help Me Help You,� ABC qualified as the most-watched network (14.2 million). ABC was also No. 1 network with Women 18-49 (5.8/15) and Women 25-54 (7.0/16).
� ABC was up sharply from the same night last year (9/25/06) by 1.9 million viewers (14.2 million vs. 12.3 million) and by 17% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/11 vs. 3.5/9).
�Dancing with the Stars� (8:00-9:31 p.m.)
Tuesday's most-watched television show for the third straight week, ABC's �Dancing with the Stars� continued to lead its time period in Total Viewers (17.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.2/14). The ABC unscripted program saw its audience build enormously throughout its telecast, jumping by 4.8 million viewers and by 44% in Adults 18-49 from start to finish.
� Despite the fact that it was a 90-minute telecast this week, as opposed to the 2-hour program it had been in the prior two weeks, giving it even greater opportunity to build throughout broadcast, �Dancing with the Stars� was up week to week in both Adults 18-34 (4.4/14 vs. 4.2/13) and Adults 25-54 (6.2/15 vs. 6.1/15), achieving a season-high with Women 18-34 (6.3/18). In fact in Adults 18-34 (tie) and Women 18-34, the ABC unscripted program produced the series� third-highest-ratings ever, behind only the two season finales for the show.
�Help Me Help You� (9:31-10:01 p.m.)
Coming out of a big number from �Dancing with the Stars,� �Help Me Help You� received strong sampling in its debut telecast. �Help Me Help You� ranked a strong No. 1 in its time period across the women demographics (W18-34 � 4.2/12, W18-49 � 5.1/12 & W25-54 � 6.1/13) while taking second among viewers (11.5 million - tie).
� �Help Me Help You� represents TV�s most-watched comedy debut since CBS� opening of �Old Christine� in March � on 3/18/06. In addition, it stood as ABC�s largest audience for any comedy telecast in the time period in 5 years � since �Spin City� on 9/25/01.
�Boston Legal� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
For the second week in a row, ABC's �Boston Legal� outdrew CBS� competing drama, �Smith,� in the 10 o�clock hour (9.9 million vs. 9.7 million). �Boston Legal� also earned second place in the hour to NBC's �Law & Order: SVU� in each of the women demographics: W18-34 (2.5/7), W18-49 (3.6/9) and W25-54 (4.7/11).
Wednesday
Just one week prior to the launch of its complete Wednesday night schedule (�DWTS the Results�/�Lost�/�The Nine�), ABC was extremely competitive among Adults 18-49 and ranked No. 1 on the evening with Women 18-49 (5.4/14), Women 18-34 (4.2/12) and Kids 2-11 (1.5/7). ABC delivered a strong second-place finish on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (4.2/11), not far behind CBS' original drama lineup (4.6/13), and beating Fox and NBC by 56% (2.7/7 � the two networks tied).
� ABC continued to build momentum on the evening as it approaches the launches of �Lost� and �The Nine� next Wednesday, growing from the previous week by 6% in viewers (12.8 million vs. 12.1 million) and by 11% in AD18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 3.8/11). It was ABC's strongest Wednesday since the end of last season, the night of �Lost's� second season finale on 5/24/06.
Editors Please Note: ABC will premiere its complete Wednesday night schedule on 10/4/06, featuring �Dancing with the Stars the Results Show,� into the third season premiere of �Lost,� followed by the series debut of �The Nine.�
�Dancing with the Stars the Results Show� (8:00-9:01 p.m.)
Up from the prior week in viewers (+5% - 15.8 million vs. 15.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+11% - 4.1/12 vs. 3.7/11), Dancing with the Stars the Results� won Wednesday's 8 o'clock hour for the third straight week. Actor Harry Hamlin was the next dancer to be eliminated from the contest. In the hour, �DWTS the Results� beat out second-place CBS' �Jericho� by 4.3 million viewers and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (11.5 million & 3.6/11).
� In addition to growing its viewer and young adult audience from the prior week, �DWTS the Results� equaled a series-high among Adults 18-49 (4.1/12) and posted a series-best rating among Men 18-49 (2.5/8).
�Lost: A Tale of Survival� (9:01-10:00 p.m.)
A clip show recapping the first two seasons of �Lost� was the second-most-watched show in the 9 o�clock hour, bringing viewers up to speed on the series and warming up the time period for next week's third season premiere. In the hour, �Lost: A Tale of Survival� outdrew NBC�s original �Biggest Loser� by nearly 1 million viewers (9.0 million vs. 8.1 million). ABC�s special clip show also took second place in the slot with Men 18-49 (2.6/7), Men 25-54 (3.3/8) and Adults 25-54 (4.0/9).
�A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
�A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters,� featuring her exclusive interview with Teri Irwin, widow of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, proved to be a strong draw. The ABC newsmagazine led its time period and stood as Wednesday�s No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49 (5.2/14-tied w/�C.S.I.: NY), Adults 18-34 (4.1/12) and across each of the women demographics: W18-34 (5.4/15), W18-49 (6.6/17) & W25-54 (7.9/18). The program gained viewers and young adults throughout the telecast.
� �A Special Edition of 20/20 with Barbara Walters� produced the largest audience for any newsmagazine telecast on any network since April '06 and the top Adult 18-49 number since December '05 -- since 4/9/06 and 12/11/05, respectively.
� In viewers and young adults, it represented ABC's top newsmagazine telecast since May 2005 � since 5/4/05.
Thursday
For the second straight week, ABC qualified as the No. 1 network on Thursday night among Adults 18-49, beating out CBS by 5% (6.3/16 vs. 6.0/16). ABC was also the No. 1 network on the evening with Adults 18-34 (5.7/17) and in all key women demographics: W18-34 (8.1/22), W18-49 (8.8/21) & W25-54 (9.9/22).
� With the debut of �Ugly Betty� on Thursday, ABC now claims the Top 2 most-watched series debuts of the season and 3 of the Top 4 in Adults 18-49: Total Viewers = �Ugly Betty� (16.3 million) � No. 1 and �Brothers & Sisters� (15.7 million) � No. 2/Adults 18-49 = �Brothers & Sisters� (6.0/15) � No. 1, �Six Degrees� (5.4/14) � No. 3 and �Ugly Betty� (5.0/14) � No. 4 (tie).
� ABC's new Thursday lineup is already delivering impressive returns, as the Network is up by 9.5 million viewers (17.1 million vs. 7.6 million) and by 209% in Adults 18-49 (6.8/18 vs. 2.2/6) over the first two Thursdays of last season.
�Ugly Betty� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. ABC's debut telecast of �Ugly Betty� opened as the most-watched new show of the season (any network). With an average audience of 16.3 million viewers and a 5.0 rating, 14 share among Adults 18-49, it placed a solid second in the hour to time period veteran �Survivor� on both counts. �Ugly Betty� tied CBS' veteran �Survivor� for the No. 1 position in the hour in Adults 18-34 (4.1/13). From start to finish, �Ugly Betty� saw its audience soar by 3.3 million viewers (14.7 million to 18.0 million) and by 33% in Adults 18-49 (4.3/13 to 5.7/15). �Betty� edged out �Survivor� at 8:30pm in viewers (18.0 million vs. 17.7 million) and Adults 18-34 (4.7/14 vs. 4.5/13). Incidentally, against �Betty� �Survivor� was down from last week in both viewers and young adults. �Ugly Betty� won its time period, beating �Survivor� across the women demographics: W18-34 (6.0/17 vs. 4.8/13), W18-49 (7.1/18 vs. 6.7/17) & W25-54 (8.4/20 vs. 8.1/19).
� The debut of �Ugly Betty� attracted ABC's largest audience with a scripted program in the time period in nearly 11-1/2 years - since 4/27/95, with an episode of �Matlock.� No other regular scripted program has delivered a higher Adult 18-49 rating for ABC in the Thursday 8 o'clock hour in more than 12 years -- since 8/25/94, with the series debut of �My So-Called Life.�
� �Ugly Betty� represents the strongest series debut on any network on any night during the opening hour of primetime (Mon.-Sat. 8:00-9:00 p.m. and Sun. 7:00-8:00 p.m.) since the initial telecast of ABC�s �Lost� on September 22, 2004.
�Grey�s Anatomy� (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
For the second straight week, ABC's �Grey's Anatomy� beat CBS' �C.S.I.� to rank No. 1 in the time period across the key adult demographics: AD18-34 (8.8/24), AD18-49 (9.5/23) & AD25-54 (10.5/23 In the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, �Grey's� beat �C.S.I.� by 19% (9.5/23 vs. 8.0/19).
� For the second week in a row, ABC�s �Grey's Anatomy� stood as Thursday night's No. 1 TV program in all key adult and women demographics.
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Grey's� is producing ABC's strongest scripted series numbers in the time period in at least 15 years -- since at least September of 1991, the start of the Nielsen electronic database.
�Six Degrees� (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's �Six Degrees� outpaced its CBS drama competition (�Shark�) among Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 (5.9/16) and Women 18-49 (5.7/14). In Adults 18-34, �Six Degrees� beat out �Shark� by 56% (4.2/13 vs. 2.7/8).
� On average in its first two telecasts, �Six Degrees� has improved ABC's performance in the hour by 4.8 million viewers (11.4 million vs. 6.6 million) and by 129% in Adults 18-49 (4.8/13 vs. 2.1/6) over the same nights last season.
Friday
�Men in Trees� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Opposite competition in the time period including CBS� �Close to Home� and NBC�s �Dateline: To Catch a Predator,� ABC�s �Men in Trees� continued to build nicely on its lead-in again this week (a repeat �Grey�s Anatomy�), increasing by 1.2 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.9/7). The new ABC drama was very competitive in the hour with young adult viewers, tying CBS� �Close to Home� in Adults 18-34 (1.5/6) and beating the CBS drama among Men 18-34 (1.1/5 vs. 1.0/4).
� �Men in Trees� produced a series-high among Men 18-34, marking ABC�s top rating in the hour with regular programming in nearly 7 months � since 3/3/06.
� On average, �Men in Trees� has improved ABC�s delivery in the Friday 9 o�clock hour 2.1 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 16% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.9/6), over the same three weeks last year.
�20/20� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
An edition of �20/20� on the gender gap in the 10 o�clock hour, looking at the differences between male and female brains, the brainwork behind sex, as well as questioning some common myths between the sexes, tied NBC�s �Law & Order� in Men 18-34 (1.5/6) and beat out CBS� �Numbers� in Women 18-34 (2.5/9 vs. 2.2/8). The ABC newsmagazine built on its lead-in by 10% in Total Viewers (7.6 million vs. 6.9 million) and by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/8 vs. 2.1/7).
� �20/20� was up in viewers (7.6 million vs. 7.5) and increased nicely from the prior week across the adult demographics: AD18-34 +33% (2.0/8 vs. 1.5/6), AD18-49 +18% (2.6/8 vs. 2.2/7) & AD25-54 +7% (3.0/8 vs. 2.8/8). The ABC newsmagazine posted its top Adult 18-34 rating in over 4 months, matching its best Adult 18-49 number since mid-May � since 5/12/06 and 5/19/06, respectively.
Saturday
�Saturday Night Football: Ohio State at Iowa� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With �Saturday Night Football,� featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes, ABC won Saturday�s primetime in Total Viewers (7.7 million) and across each of the key adult demographics [Adults 18-34 (2.4/10, Adults 18-49 (2.4/9) and Adults 25-54 (2.8/9)] for the fourth time in five weeks.
Sunday
ABC delivered a strong second-place finish on Sunday in Adults 18-49. ABC (5.6/14) paced behind only NBC (5.9/15) with coverage of NFL Sunday Night Football boosted by its �sustained ratings� during the first half-hour of prime, which inflates its overall averages for the night. This is very similar to what NBC did during the Olympics, taking out low-rated minutes to increase its overall averages. ABC also overcame CBS (4.5/12) on the night, even though that network enjoyed a high-rated NFL overrun during the opening hour of prime, which greatly boosted its averages on the evening.
� ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� was again the No. 1 TV program on Sunday in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. For the second consecutive week, ABC aired the Top 3 entertainment TV shows on Sunday in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, with �Desperate Housewives,� �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� and �Brothers & Sisters.�
�America�s Funniest Home Videos� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Opposite CBS� NFL overrun and NBC�s pre-game NFL coverage, the 17th season premiere of ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� drew 9.0 million viewers and a 2.7 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49, beating its entertainment competition in the hour on Fox. The venerable ABC video clip show delivered enormous build throughout its telecast, jumping by 2.9 million viewers (7.5 million to 10.4 million) and by 57% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 to 3.3/10) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.
� In its 17th season opener, �America�s Funniest Home Videos� posted its strongest season premiere numbers among viewers and young adults in 4 years � since 9/27/02, when it still aired on Friday night.
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� won its hour in Total Viewers (14.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.7/14). �Home Edition� outran its unscripted competition which aired partially during in the hour (8:35 p.m. start), CBS� �Amazing Race,� by 3.0 million viewers and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (�Amazing Race� = 11.8 million & 3.0/9)
�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
Sunday�s No. 1 TV show for the second week in a row with Total Viewers (21.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (8.6/20), ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� overshadowed its competition in the 9 o�clock hour, beating CBS� �Cold Case� and NBC�s �Sunday Night Football� by wide margins on both measures. �Desperate Housewives� was also dominant in the hour and ranked as the top-rated television program of the evening among Adults 18-34 (7.4/19) and Adults 25-54 (9.9/21).
�Brothers & Sisters� (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
With strong retention of its week earlier series debut numbers (86% in Total Viewers/88% in Adults 18-49) and similar lead-in retention, ABC�s �Brothers & Sisters� continued to beat its CBS drama competition in the 10 o�clock hour across the key Adult demos. ABC�s �Brothers & Sisters� defeated CBS� �Without a Trace� (10:35 p.m. start) by 45% in Adults 18-34 (4.2/12 vs. 2.9/9), by 20% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13 vs. 4.4/12) and by 15% in Adults 25-54 (6.2/15 vs. 5.4/14).
� ABC's �Brothers & Sisters� was once again the No. 1 new 10 o'clock TV show during the week among Adults 18-49 (5.3/13), topping competition that included NBC's Studio 60 (4.2/11 on Mon.) and Kidnapped (2.2/6 on Wed.) along with CBS' Smith (3.3/9 on Tues.) and Shark (4.2/11 on Thurs.)
Source: Nielsen Media Research (Live+SD), week of 9/25/06, or as dated.
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