Primetime Ratings Report For the week of November 20, 2006
ABC Leads Thanksgiving Week by 18% Among Adults 18-49, Ranking
No. 1 on 9 Weeks This Season, its Highest Number in Any Season in 7 Years
ABC Airs 6 of the Top 20 TV Programs During the Week in Adults 18-49,
Including the Top 2 with �Desperate Housewives� and �Grey�s Anatomy�
ABC�s Airing of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� is Up Year to Year
In Viewers and Young Adults, Posting its Best Numbers in 5 Years
ABC�s Telecasts of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� and �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� Qualify as the Top 2 Highest-Rated Broadcast Programs This Season with Kids 2-11
With its Broadcast of the �2006 American Music Awards,�
ABC Wins Tuesday in Each of the Adult Demos, Teens and Kids, Marking its
Best Non-Sports Adult 18-34 Number on the Night in More Than 4 Years
ABC�s �American Music Awards� Grows Year to Year Across the Adult Demos
ABC Wins Thanksgiving Thursday Evening Among Adults 18-49, Up By
3.9 Million Viewers and by 62% in Young Adults from the Year-Ago Night
ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� is Thursday�s Most-Watched TV Show, Ranking as the
No. 1 TV Series on Thursday in the Adult Demos on All Nine of its Original Airings
�Grey�s Anatomy� Beats �CSI� by 1.3 Million Viewers and 46% in Adults 18-49
The USC-Notre Dame Match-up on �Saturday Night Football� Makes ABC a Dominant No. 1 on the Night with its Strongest Saturday in Nearly 1 Year
ABC�s All-Entertainment Lineup is No. 1 on Sunday in Viewers and Adults 18-49
�America�s Funniest Home Videos� Marks its Second-Strongest Numbers This Season In Viewers & Young Adults, While Posting its Top Kids 2-11 Rating Since January �05
Part 1 of a Special �Boston Legal� Wins Sunday at 10pm in Viewers, with the Series�
Largest Audience Since January �05 and Top Adult 18-49 Rating Since February �05
WEEK No. 10:
ABC stood as the No. 1 network during Thanksgiving week (w/o 11/20/06) among Adults 18-49, posting its biggest winning advantage this season (+18% - 3.9/11 vs. 3.3/9 � 3-way tie CBS/NBC/Fox). ABC has ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 on 9 of 10 weeks this season, representing its highest number of weeks in the top position during a season in 7 years � since the 1999-00 TV Season.
� Through 25 of 28 nights of the 2006 November Sweep (through Sunday 11/26/06), ABC ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (4.2/11). ABC�s �non-sports� performance during November is up by 16% (12.5 million vs. 10.8 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 4.1/11), the only network to grow on either measure.
� Season to date on an �all programming� basis, which includes �Monday Night Football� in the year-ago averages, ABC is up in both Total Viewers (11.8 million vs. 11.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 4.1/11).
� Excluding sports from the averages this season and last, to adjust for the loss of �Monday Night Football,� ABC�s primetime numbers have surged by 19% in Total Viewers (12.4 million vs. 10.4 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/12 vs. 3.9/11). On both measures, ABC is posting the biggest gains of any broadcaster in the �non-sports� averages.
Weekly Rankings: ABC claimed 6 of the week�s Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1, �Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� � No. 2, �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� � No. 7, �Saturday Night Football (USC-Notre Dame)� � No. 9, �American Music Awards� � No. 14 and �Boston Legal SP 11/26� � No. 17. ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� has ranked as the No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49 on 4 occasions this season, while ABC has captured the top-rated show in the key sales demo on all 10 weeks of the season. ABC placed 2 of the Top 3 most-watched TV shows for the week: �Desperate Housewives� � No. 1 and �Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� � No. 3. Disney-owned ABC delivered the Top 4 broadcasts during the week among Kids 2-11 with �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown,� �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,� �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� and �America�s Funniest Home Videos,� respectively. �Home Edition� stood as the No. 1 unscripted series during the week in Adults 18-49. ABC News� �Primetime Special Edition 11/23� was the week�s No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49.
Monday
�A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
ABC�s rebroadcast of �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� outperformed the prior year�s telecast (11/24/05) by 7% in both Total Viewers (9.4 million vs. 8.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.9/9). In fact, the annual broadcast delivered the animated classic�s strongest performance in 5 years � since its debut on ABC in 2001.
� �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� led its half-hour with the Net�s highest Kids 2-11 rating (5.4/16) in the time period in 6 � years � since 5/1/2000. In addition, �A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving� ranks as the second-highest-rated broadcast in Kids 2-11 this season, behind only �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown.�
�He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� (8:30-9:00 p.m.)
The animated special, �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown,� built on its lead-in in both Total Viewers (9.5 million vs. 9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/8 vs. 3.1/8). �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� won its time-slot among Kids 2-11 (6.5/11) with ABC�s best performance in the half-hour in 6 � years � since 5/1/2000.
� �He�s a Bully, Charlie Brown� ranks as the No. 1 telecast among the broadcast nets this season among Kids 2-11.
�The Bachelor: Rome -- The Women Tell All� (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
From 9:00-10:00 p.m. �The Bachelor: Rome -- The Women Tell All� took second place in its time period with its core audience of Women 18-34 (3.6/9), defeating CBS' comedies by 9% (�Two and a Half Men�/�Old Christine� � 3.3/8).
�What About Brian� (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC�s �What About Brian� took second in the hour, beating NBC�s �Studio 60� across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.2/9), Women 18-49 (3.5/9) and Women 25-54 (3.7/9).
� ABC's �What About Brian� posted week-to-week increases in Total Viewers (5.4 million vs. 5.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.3/6).
Tuesday
�2006 American Music Awards� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With its 3-hour broadcast of the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted �2006 American Music Awards,� ABC defeated its nearest competition on Tuesday night (Fox) by 12% in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo (4.7/13 vs. 4.2/11 � Fox). The broad appealing �American Music Awards� also made ABC the No. 1 network of the evening among Adults 25-54 (5.0/12), Adults 18-34 (4.4/13), Teens 12-17 (2.6/9) and Kids 2-11 (2.1/9). The Net attracted the second-largest audience of the night, as the music awards show drew an average audience of 10.9 million viewers.
� Behind only last week, the night of penultimate episode of �DWTS,� ABC posted its second-highest-rated Tuesday night this season in Adults 18-49. The �American Music Awards� boosted ABC to its top-rated non-sports Tuesday among Adults 18-34 in over 4 years � since 10/22/02.
� Versus last year�s telecast (11/22/05), ABC�s 2006 airing of the �American Music Awards� was up 7% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 4.4/11). Additionally the annual music awards show was up over last year across the adult demographics, also making gains in Adults 18-34 (4.4/13 vs. 3.9/11) and Adults 25-54 (5.0/12 vs. 4.9/11).
� An estimated 29 million viewers watched at least some portion of the �2006 American Music Awards� during its 3-hour telecast � unique Viewers 2+ who watched 6 minutes or more of the program.
Thursday
ABC won Thanksgiving Thursday evening among Adults 18-49, beating out second-place CBS by 12% (4.7/13 vs. 4.2/12). ABC ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49 on 3 out of 4 Thursday�s during the 2006 November Sweep. ABC took first place in Adults 18-34 (4.4/14), qualifying as Thursday�s No. 1 network among Adults 18-34 on all 10 weeks this season.
� ABC�s �Grey�s Anatomy� stood as Thursday night�s most-watched TV program and has been the evening�s No. 1 TV program across each of the key adult demographics (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) on all 9 of its original airings this season.
� ABC�s delivery was up substantially from the year-ago Thanksgiving evening (11/24/05), growing by 3.9 million viewers (12.1 million vs. 8.2 million) and by 62% in Adults 18-49 (4.7/13 vs. 2.9/8).
�Ugly Betty SP 11/23� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite atypical holiday competition including Fox�s airing of the theatrical �Spider Man 2� and NBC�s special expanded �Deal or No Deal,� ABC�s �Ugly Betty� earned second place in its time period to CBS� �Survivor� across the key women demographics: W18-34 (3.1/11), W18-49 (3.7/11) and W25-54 (4.2/12).
�Grey�s Anatomy SP 11/23� (9:00-10:10 p.m.)
During the 9 o�clock hour, ABC's �Grey's Anatomy� posted a dominant victory over CBS� �C.S.I� in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC�s medical drama outdelivered CBS� crime drama by 1.3 million viewers (18.5 million vs. 17.2 million) and by 46% in Adults 18-49 (7.6/20 vs. 5.2/14). In the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, �Grey�s� has beaten �C.S.I.� on all 9 occasions where both shows have been in originals this season.
�A Special Edition of Primetime� (10:10-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour �A Special Edition of Primetime,� exploring the movie �Apocalypto� with actor and director Mel Gibson, took second-place with Women 18-34 (3.1/10) and Women 18-49 (3.4/10), beating out CBS� original ��Shark.�
Friday
On Thanksgiving Friday, with programming that included the �ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2� and an installment of �20/20,� ABC took second on the night in both Total Viewers (7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.4/7). The Net ranked No. 1 on Friday among Adults 18-34 (1.8/7 � tied), Women 18-34 (2.1/7 - tied) and Kids 2-11 (2.2/9).
� On the final Friday of the November Sweep, ABC was up by nearly 1 million viewers and by 20% among Adults 18-49 compared to the same night last year (6.2 million & 2.0/6 in Adults 18-49 on 11/25/05).
�ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2 � (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
The Net�s special telecast of the �ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Shrek 2� attracted 7.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49, matching ABC�s strongest performance in the 2-hour time block this season. The 2004 theatrical made ABC the top network from 8-10pm among Women 18-34 (2.2/8 � tied) and Kids 2-11 (2.8/10).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, �Shrek 2� outperformed its movie competition on the night, NBC�s �Movie of the Week: Family Man� (7.0 million & 2.1/7) and �Fox�s Night at the Movies: Bruce Almighty� (5.3 million & 2.1/7).
Saturday
�Saturday Night Football: Notre Dame at USC� (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With �Saturday Night Football,� ABC took the top spot on the night in primetime in Total Viewers (14.5 million) and across each of the key adult demographics [Adults 18-34 (4.1/15), Adults 18-49 (4.9/15) and Adults 25-54 (5.3/15)] for the second consecutive week. In addition, ABC delivered its largest audience and strongest young adult performance on the night in nearly 1 year � since 1/7/06.
� ABC�s �Saturday Night Football� (8:05 � 11:28 p.m.), featuring the USC Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, posted the franchise�s highest numbers ever in Total Viewers (14.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.0/16).
Sunday
ABC�s all-entertainment Sunday lineup won the evening in Total Viewers (15.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/13-tie), despite competing against NFL-fueled NBC (w/�Sunday Night Football�) and Fox (w/NFL overrun from 7:00-8:00 p.m.).
� For the 10th Sunday in a row, ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� stood as the night�s No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.
�America�s Funniest Home Videos� (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Opposite Fox�s high-rated NFL overrun during the 7 o�clock hour, ABC�s �America�s Funniest Home Videos� took second place in Adults 18-49 (3.2/8). �Videos� grew considerably from its first half-hour to its second half-hour, gaining 4.0 million viewers (9.1 million to 13.1 million) and by 63% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 to 3.9/10). �Videos� posted the series� second-strongest results of the season in viewers (11.1 million) and young adults (3.2/8).
� Ranking a strong No. 1 in the hour among Kids 2-11 (3.4/11), �America�s Funniest Home Videos� marked its strongest performance with kids in close to 2 years � since 1/30/05.
�Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC�s �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� ranked No. 1 during the 8 o�clock hour in viewers (14.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.2/12-tie). ABC topped its non-sports competition from 8:00-9:00 p.m. by solid margins, outdrawing CBS in viewers (10.4 million � �Amazing Race�) and Fox among young adults (4.5/11 � �The Simpsons�/�American Dad�).
�Desperate Housewives� (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
The No. 1 TV program of the night among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (21.4 million & 8.5/19), ABC�s �Desperate Housewives� dominated the 9 o�clock hour on both measures, pacing well ahead of NBC�s �Sunday Night Football� (16.5 million & 6.3/14).
�Boston Legal SP 11/26� (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Part 1 of special Sunday airing of �Boston Legal,� which will conclude in its normal time period this Tuesday (11/28/06 from 10:00-11:00 p.m.), won its time period among Viewers (13.5 million). ABC�s �Boston Legal� topped the final hour of CBS� movie (�Candles on Bay Street�) by 2% in Total Viewers (13.5 million vs. 13.3 million) and by 59% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/11 vs. 2.9/7).
� �Boston Legal� attracted the series� largest audience since January 2005 and its top Adult 18-49 rating since February 2005 � since 1/23/05 and 2/20/05, respectively.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, NTI and NHTI (Live+SD, Most Current), week of 11/20/06, or as dated.
|