Primetime Ratings Report For the week of May 26, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Places No. 2 for the Week in Adults 18-49
Season Finale of "Lost" Stands as TV's No. 1 Show of the Week
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, as ABC Airs the No. 1 Scripted Series
In Young Adults for the 8th Week in a Row
ABC's is the No. 1 Network on Memorial Day with Women 18-49
Surging from its Lead-in and Growing Throughout its Telecast, "The Bachelorette" Is No. 1 from 9-11pm in Women 18-49 and Beats CBS and NBC at 10pm in Adults 18-49
Season Finale of ABC's "According to Jim" Draws Largest Audience
and Highest Adults 18-49 Rating Since March
ABC's "Supernanny" Posts its Best Numbers in Viewers and Adults 18-49 Since March
ABC Wins Thursday Night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, No. 1 for
The 6th Straight Thursday in the Key Adult 18-49 Sales Demographic
Surging from its Lead-in, the "Lost" Season Finale Dominates its Slot and Towers
Over its Competitors as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Viewers and Young Adults
Despite Airing 8 Days After the End of the TV Season, "Lost" Draws its Biggest Audience in 3 Months and ABC's Top Men Numbers in the Time Period in 4 Months
One of the Season's Most Recorded TV Shows, "Lost" Gains 1.9 Million Viewers
And 18% in Adults 18-49 from its Initial Airing Through 7 Days of DVR Playback
WEEK No. 36:
During the first full week of the summer frame (w/o 5/26/08), ABC ranked No. 2 to Fox among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5-tied). In addition, ABC finished second for the week across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (1.8/6), Women 18-49 (2.3/7) and Women 25-54 (2.8/7).
Rankings: ABC broadcast 4 of the week's Top 20 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including TV's No. 1 scripted series with the "Lost" season finale: "Lost" � No. 1, " "Supernanny" � No. 8, "Wife Swap" � No. 15 and "Lost-THU 8PM" � No. 20. ABC aired the No. 1 scripted show for the 8th week in a row in the key young adult sales demo. In addition, "Lost" stood as the No. 1 telecast of the week in Total Viewers.
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 16% 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.
Monday
With a repeat special ("Vacation Swap") leading into "The Bachelorette," ABC took the No. 1 position on Memorial Day in Women 18-49 (2.7/7).
"The Bachelorette" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in and gaining audience during each half-hour of its 9:00-11:00 p.m. telecast, "The Bachelorette" drew 5.5 million viewers and a 2.0 rating, 5 share in Adults 18-49. The ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in its slot among Women 18-49 (3.0/8).
� Surging from its lead-in (+22% in Total Viewers and +33% in Adults 18-49), "The Bachelorette" steadily gained audience throughout its broadcast, growing by 16% in Total Viewers (5.1 million to 5.9 million) and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 to 2.2/6) from start to finish. In fact during the 10 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, ABC's "The Bachelorette" (2.2/6) topped CBS by 10% (2.0/5) and NBC by 29% (1.7/5).
Tuesday
"According to Jim" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Back-to-back episodes of "According to Jim," including the season finale at 8:30 p.m., drew the show's largest audiences (4.6 million & 4.8 million) and highest Adults 18-49 rating (1.6/5 & 1.9/5) in over 2 months � since 3/11 and 3/4/08, respectively.
Wednesday
ABC's Wednesday night lineup took second in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6), improving its performance over the same night last year (2.0/6 on 5/30/07).
"Supernanny" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
"Supernanny" attracted 6.7 million viewers and a 2.5 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49, registering the unscripted program's best numbers in over 2 months � since 3/19/08. In addition, the show took second in its time period in the key young adult demo.
Thursday
Boosted by the fourth-season finale of "Lost," ABC won Thursday night in Total Viewers (10.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), registering its 6th straight week as the No. 1 network on Thursday in the key young adult sales demo.
"Lost Repeat" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Originally telecast two weeks ago (5/15/08), a rebroadcast of Part 1 of the 3-part season finale of "Lost" took second place during the 8 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (6.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/7). Opposite Fox's original "So You Think You Can Dance," the repeat ABC drama paced well ahead of programming on CBS (4.8 million and 1.5/5) and NBC (3.4 million and 1.3/4) in the hour, despite the fact that NBC carried an original episode of "Last Comic Standing" starting at 8:30 p.m.
"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in by 5.5 million viewers and by 133% in Adults 18-49, the fourth-season finale of "Lost" moved ABC up into a dominant first place during from 9:00-11:00 p.m. and towered above its competitors on the evening as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (12.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/13). In fact "Lost" topped the No. 2 Thursday show, Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" (9.6 million and 3.6/11), by 2.7 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49. In addition, "Lost" won its time period in Adults 18-49 for the 13th consecutive original airing, leading its slot in the key sales demo on every telecast this season. Gaining audience during each half-hour, "Lost" gained nearly 1 million viewers (11.9 million to 12.7 million) and grew by 15% in Adults 18-49 (4.6/13 to 5.3/15) from start to finish.
Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average this season "Lost" has seen its overall audience grow by 1.9 million viewers and jump 18% in Adults 18-49 (+1.0 rating point) from its initial broadcast through 7 days of recorded DVR playback - differential between Live + Same Day and Live + 7 Day numbers.
� Despite airing 8 days past the end of the official TV Season and two weeks after its most recent telecast in mid-May, "Lost" attracted its largest audience in nearly 3 months (since 3/6/08) and bettered its season average by 5% (12.3 million vs. 11.7 million). In addition even though it competed against the NBA Western Conference Finals (Lakers-Spurs) in much of the country, "Lost" generated ABC's strongest Men 18-34 (3.7/11) and Men 18-49 (4.5/13) numbers in the 2-hour time period since early February and its highest Men 25-54 rating (5.1/13) since late January � since 2/7/08 and 1/31/08, respectively.
Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 5/26/08, unless stated otherwise.
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