Primetime Ratings Report For the week of June 23, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
For the 4th Consecutive Week, ABC Improves its Primetime Results
From the Same Week Last Year in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
ABC Airs the No. 1 TV Program in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Week in a Row
As "Wipeout" Becomes the First TV Series in Nearly 1 Year to Open at No. 1
In Adults 18-49, ABC Airs 4 of the Week's Top 10 Shows in the Key Sales Demo
"Primetime: Outsiders" Premieres as TV's No. 1 Newsmagazine in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, while ABC News Claims 3 of the Top 4 News Programs in Young Adults
Registering its Best Monday This Summer in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC Leads
The Night for the 5th Straight Week in Women 18-49 and the 14th Time in 15 Weeks
Drawing its Biggest Audience Since its Season Opener 5 Weeks Ago,
"The Bachelorette" Wins its Monday 8-10pm Time Slot in Viewers and Adults 18-49
"The Mole" Builds its Numbers Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49
Coming off Back-to-Back Victories on the Night with the NBA Finals, ABC Wins Tuesday in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Week in a Row with Summer Series Premieres
ABC's Tuesday Delivery Jumps by 3.5 Million Viewers and by 72% Year to Year,
The Network's Strongest Non-Sports Summer Tuesday Since August 2001
In its Series Debut, ABC's "Wipeout" Dominates Tuesday's 8 O'clock Hour in
Viewers and Young Adults and Qualifies as Tuesday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49
"Wipeout" Opens as ABC's Best Summer Series Debut in 3 Years and Generates
The Net's Strongest Summertime Non-Sports Numbers in the Time Period Since 2001
ABC's Debut of "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" Ranks No. 2 Against Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and NBC's "America's Got Talent" on Tuesday from 9-10pm, Producing
The Net's Highest Non-Sports Summer Numbers in the Time Period Since 2003
Building Sharply on its Lead-in and Substantially Improving its Time Period,
ABC News' "Hopkins" Opens as the Most-Watched Show in Thursday's 10pm Hour, Outdrawing Original Episodes of CBS' "Swingtown" and NBC's "Fear Itself"
Repeat Airing of "Wipeout" Premiere Episode Wins Sunday from 7-8pm in Each of The Key Adult Demos, Generating the Net's Best Numbers in the Slot This Summer
WEEK No. 40:
For the 4th straight week, ABC was up over the year-ago week in both in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Versus the comparable week last year (w/o 6/25/07), the Network gained 13% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.5 million) and 13% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.5/5).
Rankings: As "Wipeout" became TV's first series to debut as the week's No. 1 show in Adults 18-49 in nearly 1 year (w/o 7/9/07) and ABC's first to open at No. 1 since the September 2004 premiere of "Desperate Housewives" (w/o 9/27/04), the Net delivered 4 of the Top 10 programs in the key young adult sales demo: "Wipeout" � No. 1. "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" � No. 3, "The Bachelorette" and "Primetime: The Outsiders" tied at No. 9. In fact with "Wipeout" holding the top spot, it was the 5th consecutive week for ABC to deliver TV's No. 1 program in the key young adult sales demo. "Wipeout" also opened as the week's highest-rated television program in Adults 25-54 and Men 18-49. On Tuesday, ABC News' "Primetime: The Outsiders" premiered as TV's No. 1 newsmagazine for the week in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. ABC News claimed 3 of the Top 4 primetime news programs in Adults 18-49, with "Primetime: The Outsiders" � No. 1, "Primetime: Crime" � No. 3 and "Hopkins" � No. 4.
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 17% at the same point in 2006-07, up to 25% 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
ABC's Monday lineup drew 6.4 million viewers and a 2.2 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49, posting the Net's strongest performance on the night in 5 weeks in both Nielsen measures � since 5/19/08. In addition, the Net led the night across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (2.8/8), Women 18-49 (3.2/9) and Women 25-54 (3.6/9).
� ABC led Monday night for 5th consecutive week -- and for the 14th time in the last 15 weeks overall -- among Women 18-49.
� ABC was up by 2.1 million viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49 compared to the same Monday last year (4.3 million & 1.6/5 in Adults 18-49 on 6/25/07).
"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
With its most-watched telecast since its season premiere following the "DWTS" finale, "The Bachelorette" was No. 1 in its 2-hour time period in Total Viewers (7.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/8). The unscripted series also qualified as Monday's top program across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.3/10), Women 18-49 (3.7/11) and Women 25-54 (4.2/11).
� "The Bachelorette" grew its audience throughout its broadcast, growing by 1.5 million viewers (6.8 million to 8.3 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 to 2.9/8) from start to finish.
"The Mole" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "The Mole" was up week to week by 5% in Total Viewers (4.1 million vs. 3.9 million) and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 1.5/4). "The Mole" won its hour among Women 18-34 (2.0/6).
Tuesday
Coming off consecutive victories on the night with coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals the preceding two weeks, ABC won its 3rd straight Tuesday in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9) with its summer series premieres of "Wipeout," "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" and "Primetime: The Outsiders." In fact, exhibiting remarkable competitive balance, the Net delivered the No. 1 position on the night in all key Adult, Men and Women demographics.
� Versus the year-ago night (6/26/07), which also included summer premieres for the Net ("Shaq's Big Challenge"/"Primetime Family Secrets"), ABC saw its Tuesday numbers jump by 3.5 million viewers (8.2 million vs. 4.7 million) and by 72% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9 vs. 1.8/5). The Network tallied its strongest non-sports summer Tuesday delivery since August 2001 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tied) � since 8/28/01.
"Wipeout" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC's series debut of "Wipeout" opened a dominant No. 1 in the 8 o'clock hour, defeating second-place NBC's series debut of "Celebrity Family Feud" by 1.2 million viewers (10.0 million vs. 8.8 million) and by 61% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/12 vs. 2.3/8). From start to finish, "Wipeout" saw its audience surge by nearly 2 million viewers (9.1 million to 10.9 million) and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/11 to 4.1/13). The opening of the new ABC unscripted series stood as Tuesday's No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, as well as emerging as the top telecast of the evening across each of the key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Wipeout" represents ABC's biggest summer series debut in 3 years � since 7/13/05. The premiere offered ABC its best summer series numbers in the time period since 2001 � since 8/28/01 in Viewers and since 6/12/01 in Adults 18-49.
� TV's No. 1 series debut this summer in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic, "Wipeout" registered as the top-rated summer series opener on any network in nearly 1 year and the second-highest rated in the last 2 summers � since NBC's debut of "Singing Bee" on 7/10/07, second-highest since the initial telecast of NBC's "American's Got Talent" on 6/21/06.
"I Survived a Japanese Game Show" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Opposite established unscripted series during the 9 o'clock hour, including Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and NBC's "America's Got Talent," ABC's "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" delivered a solid second-place finish in Total Viewers ahead of Fox (8.0 million vs. 7.8 million) and in Adults 18-49 ahead of NBC (3.1/9 vs. 2.8/8). "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" ranked No. 1 in the hour with Men 18-34 (2.8/9 - tie).
� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" produced ABC's strongest summer non-sports numbers in the time slot since 2003 � since 6/17/03 and 7/22/03, respectively.
"Primetime: The Outsiders" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Against the final hour of NBC's 2-hour "America's Got Talent" in the 10 o'clock hour, the season premiere of ABC News' "Primetime: The Outsiders" took a strong second place in the hour in the key Adult 25-54 News demographic (2.8/7). In addition, "Primetime: The Outsiders" soundly defeated its News programming competition on the night, outdelivering CBS' "48 Hours Mystery" (9:00-10:00 p.m.) by 56% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 1.6/4) and by 22% in Adults 25-54 (2.8/7 vs. 2.3/6).
� ABC was up in the time period from the same night last year (6/26/07), with the debut of "Primetime Family Secrets," by 14% in Total Viewers (6.6 million vs. 5.8 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.1/6).
� Versus its previous premiere during the summer in August 2006 (8/15/06), "Primetime: The Outsiders" was up by 1.0 million viewers (6.6 million vs. 5.6 million) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 vs. 2.2/6). On its third season premiere, the series logged its best-ever opening numbers in Adults 18-34 (2.0/6) and Men 18-49 (2.0/6).
Wednesday
"Primetime: Crime" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in by 2.8 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49, the season premiere of ABC News' "Primetime: Crime" finished second in the hour in Total Viewers (6.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.9/5), delivering the Net's strongest numbers in the hour in 6 weeks - since 5/14/08. The ABC newsmagazine won the final hour of primetime among Adults 25-54 (2.4/7) and Women 18-49 (2.6/7).
� ABC was up in the time period from the same night last year (3.9 million and a 1.4/4 in Adults 18-49 on 6/27/07) by 3.0 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49.
Thursday
"Hopkins" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in by 2.5 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 77% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5 vs. 0.9/3), the season premiere of "Hopkins" opened as the most-watched show in Thursday's 10 o'clock hour. ABC's "Hopkins" (5.9 million) outdrew originals CBS' "Swingtown" (5.7 million) and NBC's "Fear Itself" (4.5 million). In addition, the first installment of the 6-part ABC News documentary series, revolving around Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital, also led its CBS and NBC competition in its time slot across each of the key women demographics: W18-34 (1.8/6), W18-49 (2.3/7) and W25-54 (3.1/8).
� With the premiere of "Hopkins" (5.9 million and 1.6/5), ABC delivered considerable increases in Thursday's 10 o'clock hour among viewers and young adults over the prior week (6/19/08 = 3.3 million and 1.1/3) and over the same week last year (6/28/07 = 3.7 million and 1.1/3).
� Excluding only the post-season closer of "Lost" on 5/29/08, the ABC News program generated the Network's best non-sports numbers (Viewers/AD18-49) in the hour during a summer frame (Memorial Day-Labor Day) since August 2006 � since 8/24/06 and 8/31/06, respectively.
Sunday
"Wipeout" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
With a special rebroadcast of the premiere episode, ABC's "Wipeout" ranked No. 1 in its hour across each of the key adult demos (Adults 18-34 - 1.3/5, Adults 18-49 - 1.7/6 and Adults 25-54 - 2.1/7-tie) in its second airing in five nights. In addition, the series registered the Net's strongest ratings of the summer in each key adult demo - since 5/18/08. From start to finish, the repeat "Wipeout" saw its audience grow by 13% in viewers (4.8 million to 5.4 million) and by 19% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6 to 1.9/7).
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Building on its lead-in by 10% in Total Viewers (5.6 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 6% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.7/6), a repeat "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" took second in its 2-hour time block in the key young adult demo. The unscripted series won its time period among Adults 18-34 (1.5/5) and Women 18-49 (2.2/6).
� "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" surged from start to finish by 2.0 million viewers (4.6 million to 6.6 million) and by 47% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 2.2/6), winning the final two half-hours among young adults.
Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 6/23/08, unless stated otherwise. Summer = Memorial Day to Labor Day.
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