Quick Take for Wednesday, May 6, 2009
(National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
Registering its 12th Straight Wednesday of Year-to-Year Increases
In Adults 18-49, ABC Jumps Over the Same Night Last Year by 24%
"Lost" is Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Series in Adults 18-49
For its 14th Consecutive Original Telecast This Season
Hitting a 5-Week High, Season Finale of "Scrubs" Earns No. 2 in the 8pm Hour
Among Adults 18-49 and is No. 1 in Adults 18-34 for the 3rd Time in 4 Telecasts
"Lost" Dominates its Non-"Idol" Competition at 9pm Among Adults 18-49
For the 2nd Week in a Row, "The Unusuals" Grows its Adult 18-49 Audience
Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC placed No. 2 to an "Idol"-driven Fox on Wednesday night in Adults 18-34 (2.4/8), besting CBS by 41% (1.7/5) and NBC by 140% (1.0/3).
� Up 24% from the year-ago night in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 vs. 2.1/6 on 5/7/08), ABC tallied its 12th consecutive Wednesday delivering a year-to-year increase in the key young adult sales demo.
"Scrubs" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC's season finale of "Scrubs" finished No. 2 in the 8 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) and ranked No. 1 among Adults 18-34 (2.2/8) for the 3rd time in last 4 Wednesday telecasts. Head to head in the 8 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, the ABC comedy defeated CBS' original comedies ("Old Christine"/"Gary Unmarried") by 11% (1.9/6) and NBC's season premiere of "Law & Order: CI" by 62% (2.1/6 vs. 1.3/4).
� After being pre-empted the prior week for the Presidential News Conference, "Scrubs" surged 11% over its last airing on the night (4/22/09) in both Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.9/6), turning in its strongest numbers in 5 weeks � since 3/25/09.
"Lost" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
ABC's "Lost" beat out its non-"Idol" competition in the 9 o'clock hour by strong margins in Adults 18-49 (4.0/10), topping CBS' original "Criminal Minds" by 21% (3.3/8) and NBC's replay "Law & Order: SVU" by 264% (1.1/3). "Lost" qualified as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show for its 14th consecutive regular original telecast in Adults 18-49.
"The Unusuals" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's freshman "The Unusuals" defeated NBC's veteran "Law & Order" by 9% among Men 18-34 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/3). "The Unusuals tied "L&O" with Adults 18-34 (1.2/4).
� Posting its 2nd consecutive week in growth, ABC's "The Unusuals" was up week to week by 7% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.5/5). The new drama was also up over the prior week across each of the key Men demos (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).
A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 31% currently, from 24% at the same point in 2008. 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 (National Live + Same Program Ratings), 5/6/09.
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