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[12/09/08 - 01:47 PM]
ABC Finishes in a Near-Tie for First with an Nfl-Boosted FOX in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for the week of December 1-7.

[via press release from ABC]

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of December 1, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Finishes in a Near-Tie for First with an NFL-Boosted Fox in Adults 18-49 And Wins its 11th Straight Week This Season in Women 18-34 and Women 18-49

ABC Delivers 5 of the Week's Top 15 TV Programs in Adults 18-49, Including The Top 2 Scripted Shows with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy"

For the 5th Straight Week, Net Claims TV's No. 1 Scripted Series in Adults 18-49

"Shrek the Halls" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Win their Monday Time Periods in Total Viewers, All Adult Demos, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11, Garnering ABC's Highest Kids 2-11 Rating in Each Half-hour in Over 8 Years

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Stands as Broadcast Television's Top Kids 2-11 Telecast Since January, Topping All Olympic Telecasts and "American Idol" Finales

In its 8th Season Premiere on Tuesday, "According to Jim" Jumps Over Last Season's Opener by 2.1 Million Viewers and 83% in Adults 18-49

Surging Week to Week by 1.4 Million Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Private Practice" Takes Second in its Slot in Adults 18-49 and Wins in Key Women

ABC Wins Thursday in Adults 18-49, Drawing its Largest Audience and Highest Young Adult Performance on the Night Since Premiere Thursday

For its 2nd Consecutive Airing, ABC "Ugly Betty" Beats CBS' "Survivor" on Thursday From 8-9pm in Adults 18-34 and Leads in Women 18-34 for the 10th Straight Telecast

"Grey's Anatomy" Stands as Thursday's No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 for the 5th Consecutive Airing, Beating CBS' "C.S.I." by 20% in the Key Young Adult Sales Demo

Attracting its Biggest Audience Since 2004, "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" Wins its Time Slot in Viewers and All Key Adult Demos

For the 6th Time in 7 Weeks, ABC Wins Saturday with College Football Coverage

"Home Edition" Outruns CBS' Season Finale of "Amazing Race" in Adults 18-49

"Housewives" is Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, Posting Best-Since-Season-Premiere Results with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

"Brothers & Sisters" Pulls Best Numbers in 10 Weeks in Viewers and Young Adults

WEEK No. 11:

During the first week of December (w/o 12/1/08), ABC finished in a near-tie for first place with an NFL-overrun boosted Fox (Sunday's huge Dallas-Pittsburgh game ran 38 minutes into primetime) among Adults 18-49. ABC and CBS each paced within one-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share with Fox for the week (2.8/8 vs. 2.9/8). ABC won its 11th consecutive week this season in both Women 18-34 (3.0/9) and Women 18-49 (3.5/9).

� ABC's Adult 18-34 number jumped week to week by 14% (2.4/7 vs. 2.1/7) and also grew 4% from the same week last year (w/o 12/3/07 = 2.3/7).

Rankings: The Network delivered 5 of the week's Top 15 TV shows in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 scripted programs with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy": "Desperate Housewives" � No. 2, "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 3, "Barbara Walters Presents" � No. 8, "Brothers & Sisters" � No. 12 and "How the Grinch Stole XMAS-1" � No. 14. It was the Network's 5th week in a row to claim TV's No. 1 scripted series in the key young adult demographic. Additionally, between "Housewives" and "Grey's," ABC aired the week's Top 2 television programs among Adults 18-34 and across each of the key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). ABC broadcast 3 of the Top 10 most-watched TV shows overall for the week: "Desperate Housewives" � No. 5, "Grey's Anatomy" � No. 6 and "Barbara Walters Presents" � No. 10. In addition to ranking as a Top 10 show for the week, "Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People" attracted the special's biggest audience 4 years and its second-largest in almost 10 years � since 2004 and 1999, respectively.

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 more than 28% currently, from 21% at the same point in 2007. 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 8.6 million viewers and a 2.6 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49, taking second on the evening in viewers. The Net ranked No. 1 on the night among Women 18-49 (3.5/8) and Women 25-54 (4.2/9-tied). In addition, ABC stood as the top broadcaster among Teens 12-17 (1.6/6) and Kids 2-11 (2.7/11). ABC delivered the Net's strongest Kids 2-11 rating on the night in over 2 years � since 11/20/06.

� Compared to the same night last year on the first Monday after the "Dancing with the Stars" season finale, this year's first post-"DWTS" finale Monday was up by 2.1 million viewers and by 4% in Adults 18-49 (6.5 million & 2.5/6 on 12/3/07).

"Shrek the Halls" (8:00-8:32 p.m.)

ABC's airing of "Shrek the Halls" won its time period in Total Viewers (11.1 million), across each of the key adult demos (A18-34 � 2.3/7, A18-49 � 3.3/9, A25-54 � 4.0/10), Teens 12-17 (2.8/10) and Kids 2-11 (5.6/17).

� The rebroadcast special drew ABC's highest Kids 2-11 rating in the time period in over 8 years � since 5/1/00.

"Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (8:32-9:02 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in by in both viewers and young adults, the animated holiday classic, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," also topped its half-hour in Total Viewers (11.4 million), all key adult demos (A18-34 � 2.6/7, A18-49 � 3.8/9, A25-54 � 4.3/10), Teens 12-17 (2.9/9) and Kids 2-11 (6.9/20).

� The special repeat of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" qualified as Monday's No. 1 program in Kids 2-11 and generated ABC's highest Kids 2-11 rating in the half hour in over 8 years � since 5/1/00. In fact, excluding the Super Bowl, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" represented broadcast television's highest rated Kids 2-11 program in over 10 months � since 1/22/08, with Fox's "American Idol." The program was higher rated among Kids 2-11 than all of NBC's primetime Olympic telecasts and both of Fox's "American Idol" finales in May.

Tuesday

"Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC's annual broadcast of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" led its hour and stood as Tuesday's No. 1 program among Kids 2-11 (5.2/16).

� "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" was up over its year-ago performance (12/05/07) by 33% in Teens 12-17 (2.4/8 vs. 1.8/6) and by 13% in Kids 2-11 (5.2/16 vs. 4.6/16).

"According to Jim" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

On its 8th season premiere, ABC's "According to Jim" was up sharply over last season's opener (1/15/08), jumping by 2.1 million viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 83% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.2/3).

Wednesday

"Private Practice" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in, ABC's "Private Practice" attracted 7.8 million viewers and a 2.5 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49, taking second in its hour in the key young adult sales demo. The ABC sophomore drama won its time period across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (3.5/9), Women 18-49 (3.9/9) and Women 25-54 (4.1/9).

� "Private Practice" was up week to week by 1.4 million viewers and by 39% in Adults 18-49 (6.3 million & 1.8/6 on 11/26/08).

Thursday

ABC registered its strongest performance on the night in both Total Viewers (12.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/11) since premiere Thursday 10 weeks ago � since 9/25/08. ABC won the night in the key young adult sales demo. ABC also led the evening in Adults 18-34 (4.0/12) for the 4th time in the past 5 weeks with a best-since-premiere-Thursday performance.

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

ABC's "Ugly Betty" took second place in the 8 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (8.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7), topping NBC's comedies in the time period for the 8th straight head-to-head airing, by 2.9 million viewers ("My Name is Earl"/"Kath & Kim" = 5.5 million). "Betty" ranked No. 1 in the hour with Adults 18-34 (2.3/8) for the 2nd telecast in a row. The comedy dominated its slot in Women 18-34, beating CBS' "Survivor: Gabon" by 35% (3.5/11 vs. 2.6/8). In fact the ABC series marked its 10th consecutive telecast this season as the No. 1 TV show in the hour in Women 18-34.

� "Ugly Betty" was up over its most-recent telecast in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (8.3 million and a 2.5/7 on 11/20/08), delivering its best numbers in 4 weeks � since 11/06/08.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

For the 5th telecast in a row and the 6th time in the last 7 airings, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo. The ABC medical drama defeated CBS' drama competition in the 9 o'clock hour, "C.S.I.," by 20% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/14 vs. 4.6/12) and by a best-of-season margin of 107% in Adults 18-34 (5.6/15 vs. 2.7/8). "Grey's" qualified as the night's No. 1 show with Adults 18-34 for the 6th time in 7 telecasts.

"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

In the final hour of primetime, ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" won its time period in Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11), outperforming the second-place networks by 2.3 million viewers (10.9 million � CBS' "Eleventh Hour") and by 31% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/9 � NBC's "ER"). The annual special also led the hour among Adults 18-34 (3.9/12) and Adults 25-54 (4.8/12). President-elect Barack Obama was named the most fascinating person of 2008.

� ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" was up by almost 2.0 million viewers over the 2007 edition (11.3 million on 12/06/07). In fact, it was the special's largest audience in 4 years (since 2004) and second-largest in nearly 10 years (since 1999).

Friday

ABC's Friday lineup, which included a rebroadcast of the "ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and an installment of "20/20," ranked No. 2 on the evening and posted week-to-week increases among Adults 18-34 (1.6/6 vs. 1.4/6) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.8/6). ABC took the top spot on the night among Women 18-34 (2.1/7).

"ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

The Net's special telecast of the "ABC Friday Movie of the Week: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" finished second in its two-hour time period in Adults 18-34 (1.7/6), Adults 18-49 (2.1/7) and Kids 2-11 (3.1/10), turning in the Net's highest ratings in the time slot in each demo in more than 1 year - since 11/30/07.

Saturday

"Big 12 Championship: Missouri vs. Oklahoma" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's coverage of the "Big 12 Championship," with the Oklahoma Sooners' win over the Missouri Tigers, lifted the Net to the No. 1 position for the 6th time in the last 7 weeks in Total Viewers (9.2 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics [Adults 18-34 (2.9/10), Adults 18-49 (3.0/9) and Adults 25-54 (3.3/9)].

� The "Big 12 Championship" stood as the night's No. 1 TV program in both Total Viewers (8.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/9).

Sunday

Opposite NBC with "Sunday Night Football" (Washington-Baltimore) and Fox with another huge primetime NFL overrun (Dallas-Pittsburgh), ABC won the evening across each of the key Women demos: W18-34 (4.4/12), W18-49 (4.9/12) and W25-54 (5.3/12). In fact the Network marked its 11th consecutive Sunday this season at No. 1 in Women 18-49. ABC defeated its non-sports competition on the evening, CBS, by 32% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/9 vs. 2.8/7).

� For its 10th consecutive airing this season, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" finished as Sunday's most-watched entertainment program. "Housewives" posted its 9th time in 10 broadcasts this season as Sunday's top-rated entertainment series in Adults 18-49.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" outran CBS' season finale of "Amazing Race XII" among young adults, beating its unscripted competitor by 6% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/8 vs. 3.1/7) and by 8% in Adults 18-34 (2.6/7 vs. 2.4/7). "Home Edition" won its time period among Women 18-34 (3.4/9) and Women 18-49 (4.1/10), ranking No. 1 in the slot for the 9th time in 10 telecasts this season on the latter measure.

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Sunday's No. 1 program, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" dominated its 9 o'clock time period in Total Viewers (16.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.0/14), outdelivering competition including NBC's NFL game (14.3 million & 5.4/13), CBS' original movie ("Front of the Class" = 11.0 million & 2.5/6) and Fox's animated comedies ("Family Guy"/"American Dad" = 6.0 million & 2.7/6).

� "Housewives" was up week to week in Total Viewers (16.1 million vs. 15.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.0/14 vs. 5.7/12), while posting best-since-premiere numbers (9/28/08) in Adults 18-34 (5.3/13) and Women 18-34 (7.6/18). Excluding the season premiere, the show posted its highest Adult 18-34 and Women 18-34 ratings in over 1 year � since 12/2/07.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" ranked No. 1 during Sunday's 10 o'clock hour across all key women, its 10th consecutive telecast this season to earn first place in Women 18-49 (5.4/13) and Women 25-54 (5.9/13). Once again the No. 1 non-sports show in the hour with young adults, "Brothers & Sisters" outdrew the final hour of CBS' original movie by 30% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/9 vs. 3.0/7).

� Growing week to week by 4% in Viewers (10.5 million vs. 10.1 million) and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/10 vs. 3.4/8), "Brothers & Sisters" achieved its strongest results since its season opener 10 weeks ago � since 9/28/08.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 12/1/08, unless stated otherwise.





  [december 2008]  
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· 20/20 (ABC)
· ACCORDING TO JIM (ABC)
· AMAZING RACE, THE (CBS)
· AMERICAN DAD (TBS)
· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)
· DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
· ELEVENTH HOUR (CBS)
· ER (NBC)
· EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (HGTV)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· FRONT OF THE CLASS (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· KATH & KIM (NBC)
· MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
· PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC)
· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL (ABC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· SURVIVOR (CBS)
· UGLY BETTY (ABC)





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