Quick Take for Thursday, May 8, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)
ABC is No. 1 for the 3rd Straight Thursday of the May Sweep in Adults 18-49, Growing Week to Week in Viewers, Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Teens 12-17
Thursday's No. 1 TV Show Across All Key Adults for the its 3rd Week in a Row, "Grey's" Marks its 38th Original Telecast as the Night's Top Show in Adults 18-49
ABC's "Ugly Betty" Holds Second in the 8 O'clock Hour Among Viewers to the Final Thursday Episode of "Survivor," Increasing its Overall Audience from the Prior Week
Growing its Audience Week to Week on its 3rd Week Back in Originals, "Grey's Anatomy" Widens its Dominance Over CBS' "C.S.I." at 9pm to 24% in Adults 18-49
"Lost" Wins its New 10pm Slot Among All Key Adults, Men and Women, and
Increases from its Lead-in Across the Men Demos for the 3rd Week in a Row
"Lost" is Up Week to Week Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC marked its 3rd straight Thursday of the 2008 May Sweep as the No. 1 network among Adults 18-49 (4.4/12). The Network, also for the 3rd consecutive week, won the evening in Adults 18-34 (4.1/13) and among key women demographics: W18-34 (5.5/16) and W18-49 (5.9/15).
� ABC's Thursday delivery was up over the prior week in Total Viewers, Men 18-49, Men 25-54 and Teens 12-17, while retaining all of Adult 18-49 number.
"Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Against the penultimate episode of CBS' "Survivor: Micronesia," ABC's "Ugly Betty" took second place during the 8 o'clock hour among Total Viewers (8.0 million), Adults 25-54 (2.9/8) and across the key women demos: W18-34 (3.0/9), W18-49 (3.3/9), W25-54 (4.1/11).
� Opposite stiff competition, "Betty" was up from the prior week in Total Viewers (8.0 million vs. 7.9 million) and held even among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7).
"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
For the 3rd straight week since its return to original episodes, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" dominated its 9 o'clock time slot to qualify as Thursday's No. 1 TV program across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (5.8/17), Adults 18-49 (6.1/16) and Adults 25-54 (6.6/16). Head to head in the time period, "Grey's" widened its winning advantage over CBS' "C.S.I." to 24% in Adults 18-49 (6.1/16 vs. 4.9/13), up from 20% the prior week. In addition, "Grey's Anatomy" marked its 38th consecutive original airing to stand as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo - on every single original airing on the night over the past 2 seasons.
� On just its third week back to original episodes, after a more than a 3-month break, "Grey's Anatomy" was up week to week in Total Viewers (15.6 million vs. 15.3 million) and retained all of its Adults 18-49 audience (6.1/16). The ABC medical drama was also up from the prior week across all men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) and with Teens 12-17.
"Lost" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
For the 3rd consecutive week in its new time period, ABC's "Lost" overshadowed its 10 o'clock competition among Adults 18-49 (4.9/13), defeating second-place CBS' "Without a Trace" by 29% (3.8/10) and third-place NBC's "ER" by 69% (2.9/8). In fact "Lost" ranked No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-49 for its 11th consecutive original airing this season. "Lost" ranked No. 1 in Thursday's 10:00 p.m. hour for the 3rd straight week in all key adults, men and women.
� "Lost" was up from the previous week in Total Viewers (+6% - 11.3 million vs. 10.7 million) and in Adults 18-49 (+4% - 4.9/13 vs. 4.7/13).
� Continuing to exhibit strong retention of its "Grey's" lead-in with key adults, "Lost" grew from its lead-in for the 3rd time in as many weeks across all key men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). "Lost" logged its 3rd Thursday in a row as the No. 1 TV show with Men 18-49 (4.2/12).
A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating trends based on the Live + Same Day data stream may be somewhat distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped from over 15% at the same point in 2006-07, up to more than 24% currently. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.
Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 5/8/08.
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