Quick Take for Wednesday, May 27, 2009
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)
ABC Marks Top Summer Wednesday in 1 Year in Viewers and Young Adults
Premiering on its New Night Against Increased Competition, ABC's "Wipeout"
Opens at No. 1 in Adult 18-49, Beating Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance"
"Wipeout" Generates ABC's Best Results in the Time Period
With Regular Summer Series Programming Since 2005
On its Debut, "The Goode Family" Produces ABC's Strongest
Summertime Adult 18-49 Rating in the Time Slot in Nearly 1 Year
Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
Boosted by the season premiere of "Wipeout," ABC turned in its strongest summer Wednesday in nearly 1 year in Total Viewers (5.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.9/5) � since 6/4/08 and 5/28/08, respectively.
"Wipeout" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Moving to a new night and more competitive time period on its 2nd-season premiere, up against Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," CBS' George Straight concert special and NBC's original "Law & Order: CI," ABC's "Wipeout" opened at No. 1 among Adults 18-49. From 8:00-9:00 p.m. in the key young adult sales demo, "Wipeout" (3.2/10) beat Fox's hit dance program by 7% (3.0/9), CBS' concert special by 68% (1.9/6) and NBC's original drama by 191% (1.1/3). "Wipeout" also finished No. 1 in the hour among Adults 25-54 and across all key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).
� From its first half-hour to its second half-hour, "Wipeout" saw its audience surge by 1.2 million viewers (8.0 million to 9.2 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/10 to 3.5/10).
� "Wipeout" generated ABC's best numbers in the time period with regular series programming since November 2007 in Total Viewers (8.6 million), and since January 2008 in Adults 18-49 (3.2/10) � since 11/14/07 and 1/2/08, respectively. In addition, the show posted ABC's top summer results with series programming in the hour in nearly 4 years on both counts � since 7/13/05.
� Although airing against the highly-rated NBA Western Conference Finals (LA Lakers-Denver Nuggets Game 5) on ESPN in the Pacific and Mountain time zones, "Wipeout" greatly improved ABC's performance in the hour over the year-ago night (5/28/08) with original programming in both Total Viewers (+51% - 8.6 million vs. 5.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+45% - 3.2/10 vs. 2.2/7). Last year the show aired in Tuesday's 8 o'clock hour against lesser competition, and despite the heightened competition on its new night, "Wipeout" topped its Season 1 averages for original episodes in both viewers and young adults (8.4 million and 3.1/10 in AD18-49).
"The Goode Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
On its series debut, ABC's "The Goode Family" posted ABC's strongest summertime Adult 18-49 rating (1.6/5) in the time slot in nearly 1 year � since 6/4/08.
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 25% 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 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Ratings), 5/27/09.
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