or


[09/26/08 - 11:44 AM]
ABC Wins the Opening Thursday of the Season in Viewers and Key Adults
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, September 25.

[via press release from ABC]

Quick Take for Thursday, September 25, 2008 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Wins the Opening Thursday of the Season in Viewers and Key Adults, The Net's First Total Viewer Victory on a Season-Opening Thursday in 8 Years

ABC is Up from the Year-Ago Night in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Drawing its Biggest Audience Since January and Top Adult 18-49 Number Since November, "Ugly Betty" Opens its Third Season a Strong No. 1 in Key Demos

In its Fifth-Season Premiere, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" Generates its Top Numbers In Nearly 11 Months, Standing as TV's Highest-Rated Scripted Telecast Since February

"Grey's" Marks its 41st Original Airing as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC dominated the opening Thursday of the season among Total Viewers (15.5 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics: AD18-34 (6.3/18), AD18-49 (6.0/15) and A25-54 (6.2/15). The Net bested second-place CBS on the evening by 3.8 million viewers and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 11.7 million and 3.8/10). ABC's Thursday was the highest-rated night for any net so far this season in the key young adult sales demo.

� ABC's numbers were up over the same night a year ago in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (14.5 million and 5.8/15 on 9/27/07).

� It was the first time that ABC has won the opening Thursday of a season in Total Viewers in 8 years (since 10/5/00) and just the second time since at least 1991 - going back to the start of Nielsen's electronic database.

"Ugly Betty" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m. ABC's "Ugly Betty" opened its third season a definitive No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-34 (3.4/11), beating CBS' second-place "Survivor: Gabon" premiere by 26% (2.7/9) and third-place NBC's opener of "My Name is Earl" by 31% (2.6/8). Asserting itself in the hour among its core audience of Women 18-34, "Betty" defeated second-place CBS' "Survivor" franchise by a best-ever 69% (5.4/16 vs. 3.2/10). The show earned a solid second in the hour to CBS' "Survivor" in Total Viewers (9.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/9), leading third-place NBC's season opener of "My Name is Earl" by wide margins ("Earl" = 6.4 million and 2.7/8).

� "Ugly Betty" generated its biggest audience since early January and its top Adult 18-49 number since last November � since 1/10/08 and 11/15/07, respectively. It was the series' highest-rated telecast with Women 18-34 in exactly 1 year � since 9/27/07.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (18.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (7.3/18) on its fifth-season premiere, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" opened as the highest-rated premiere so far this season in the key young adult sales demo, outdelivering the second-highest-rated season opener by a margin of 30% (Fox's "House" on 9/16/08 = 5.6/16). The ABC medical drama marked its 41st straight original telecast as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 � No. 1 on every single original airing since premiering on the evening in 2006. In its 9:00-11:00 p.m., "Grey's" beat its nearest time-period competition by 7.2 million viewers (18.3 million vs. 11.1 million � CBS) and by 78% in Adults 18-49 (7.3/18 vs. 4.1/10 � NBC).

� Grey's represents TV's most-watched scripted series telecast since early-April (4/10/08 - CBS' "C.S.I.") and highest-rated among Adults 18-49 since the beginning of February (2/5/08 - Fox's "House" coming out of "American Idol").

� In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Grey's Anatomy" turned in its strongest performance in nearly 11 months � since 11/15/07.

Please note: Based on last season ('07-08), "Grey's Anatomy" is the most recorded and played back program on all of TV, as the show gained +2.1 million viewers and grew by +1.1 rating points in Adults 18-49 (+13%) from its first reported Live + Same Day number to its Live + 7 Day number. With current DVR penetration nearing 28% this season, up from about 19% at the same point a year ago, "Grey's" will see even greater increases in viewership this season from the initially reported next-day overnight ratings to the final numbers including all DVR playback.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 9/25/08.





  [september 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· HOUSE (FOX)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[11/01/24 - 11:54 AM]
"High Potential" Continues Linear Dominance as ABC Wins Tuesday 10 p.m. Hour in Total Viewers for First Time in 4 Years
Season to date through week five, "High Potential" stands as ABC's most-watched (10.42 million) new series in six years - since the 2018-2019 season with "The Conners."

[10/31/24 - 06:41 PM]
FOX Sports Caps a Postseason for the Ages as World Series Game 5 Delivers 18.6 Million Viewers
Across all networks, the 120th World Series dominated the television landscape with an average of 15,808,000 viewers, the best combined figure for the Fall Classic since 2017.

[10/30/24 - 03:14 PM]
FOX Sports Hits Grand Slam with Most-Watched World Series Game 4 Since 2016, Peaking at 18.2M Viewers
Through Game 4, the 2024 World Series across all networks is averaging 14,984,000 viewers - its best start since 2017.

[10/29/24 - 03:37 PM]
World Series Game 3: Monday's Most-Watched Program
On FOX, the broadcast averaged 13,208,000 viewers, making it the most-watched Game 3 since 2018.

[10/29/24 - 12:03 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Oct. 21: "The Lincoln Lawyer" Courts the Top Spot; "Don't Move" Debuts at #1
The new docuseries "This Is the Zodiac Speaking" debuted at #2 with 7.5M views and the feature documentary "Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare" stole #3 (7.2M views).

[10/29/24 - 11:30 AM]
CBS Premiere Episodes Soar in Multiplatform Viewership Led by "Matlock" Premiere Amassing 22.8 Million Viewers in One Month
Other highlights include the series premiere of "Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage" amassed 10.6 million multiplatform viewers in its first seven days.

[10/28/24 - 03:50 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Is Top Program of the Night in Adults 18-49
Season to date, "Dancing with the Stars" stands as the No. 1 entertainment program on broadcast in Adults 18-49 (0.69 rating).

[10/28/24 - 02:05 PM]
Cowboys-49ers Averages Nearly 24 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock in Most-Watched Week 8 "Sunday Night Football" Game Ever
NBC Sports' audience peaked at 26.4 million viewers in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/27/24 - 02:17 PM]
Viewership Gains: World Series Off to Strongest Start Since 2017
With 13,444,000 viewers, it was the most-watched World Series Game 2 on FOX since 2018 (Dodgers-Red Sox: 13,508,000).

[10/26/24 - 01:12 PM]
Gibby, Meet Freddie: MLB Delivers 15.2M Viewers for World Series Game 1
It was the most-watched World Series Game 1 since 2017 (Astros-Dodgers: 15,328,000).

[10/25/24 - 10:57 AM]
The 2024 WNBA Season Delivers Record Viewership Across ESPN Platforms
The 2024 postseason averaged 1.1 million viewers - up 139 percent over 2023's postseason - making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason in 25 years.

[10/24/24 - 01:42 PM]
"Interview with a Killer" Sets Record with Most-Watched Court TV Original Series Debut
The show's initial telecasts were up +50% with Persons 2+ and +60% in P25-54, to become Court TV's top-performing original since the network began being Nielsen rated.

[10/23/24 - 12:35 PM]
"9-1-1" Concludes Wildly Exciting "Bee-Nado" Story Arc, Rising +89% in Total Viewers and +294% in Adults 18-49 Over Initial Live + Same Day Audience
On linear, "9-1-1" ranked as the top entertainment program of the night in both Total Viewers (7.39 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating).

[10/23/24 - 11:25 AM]
It's a Hallmark Channel Christmas Across Entertainment Cable
"'Twas the Date Before Christmas," "Holiday Crashers," and "Scouting for Christmas" became the Top 3 entertainment cable programs of the week among Households, Total Viewers, and Women and Persons 18+.

[10/22/24 - 03:00 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 6th Consecutive Week
Season to date, "Nightline" is up in Total Viewers (+2% - 989,000 vs. 958,000) versus the comparable weeks last season, posting its largest Total Viewer audience in 5 years - since the 2019-2020 season.