ABC Delivers 4 of Week's Top 15 Programs in Adults 18-49

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of March 8, 2010 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Delivers 4 of the Week's Top 15 TV Programs in Adults 18-49, with "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Modern Family" and "Desperate Housewives"

Despite Airing Opposite "Idol" on Wednesday, ABC's "Modern Family" is TV's No. 1 Scripted Freshman Series for the 2nd Week in a Row Among Adults 18-49

Building from its First to Second Hour, "The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding" Finishes No. 2 on Monday at 9pm, Beating Fox's "24" and NBC's "Trauma"

Monday at 10pm, ABC's "Castle" Defeats NBC's "Law & Order" By 3.9 Million Viewers and by 60% Among Adults 18-49

ABC is Up on Tuesday Night Year to Year in Adults 18-49 for 6 Weeks in a Row

Growing Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, "Lost" is Tuesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show in Adults 18-49 for 6 Straight Weeks

ABC Marks its Strongest Wednesday in 4 Weeks in Viewers and Young Adults

ABC's "Scrubs" Posts its Best Numbers Since December in Viewers and Adults 18-49

Building on its Lead-in and Growing its Numbers Week to Week, ABC's "The Middle" Places a Strong No. 2 Wednesday at 8:30pm in Adults 18-49

Jumping from its Lead-in Against Fox's "Idol," "Modern Family" is Wednesday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show for its 5th Straight Original Airing, While Building Week to Week

Opposite the Final Half-Hour of "Idol," "Cougar Town" Posts Double-Digit Increases, Improving Over the Prior Week by 13% in Total Viewers and 13% in Adults 18-49

Building on its Lead-in by 6.6 Million Viewers and 255% in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" is Thursday's No. 1 Scripted TV Show in the Key Sales Demo

Up Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's "Private Practice" Beats NBC's "Marriage Ref" by 1.7 Million Viewers and 8% in Adults 18-49

For its 3rd Straight Telecast, ABC 20-Year Veteran "America's Funniest Home Videos" is the No. 1 TV Series on Sunday at 7pm Among Adults 18-49

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Draws its Biggest Audience in Over 2 Months

Sunday's No. 1 Scripted Show for its 4th Straight Airing in Viewers and Young Adults, "Housewives" Marks its Most-Watched Telecast Since the Beginning of January

"Brothers & Sisters" Generates its Biggest Overall Audience Since Early January

WEEK No. 25:

During the week of March 8, 2010, ABC delivered 4 of the Top 15 TV shows among Adults 18-49: "Lost" No. 7, "Grey's Anatomy" No. 8, "Modern Family" No. 11 and "Desperate Housewives" No. 14. Although airing opposite "American Idol" on Wednesday, ABC's "Modern Family" finished as the week's No. 1 scripted freshman series in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row.

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 36% currently, from 30% at the same point in 2009. 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 of "Jason and Molly's Wedding" and "Castle" drew 9.2 million viewers and a 2.6 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49, beating NBC's all-original drama lineup by 3.8 million viewers and by 53% in Adults 18-49 (5.4 million & 1.7/5 in Adults 18-49). ABC won the night among Women 18-34 (3.5/10), taking the top spot for the 8th time in the last 10 weeks.

"The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's special telecast of "The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding" attracted 9.3 million viewers and a 2.8 rating, 7 share in Adults 18-49. "The Bachelor" grew by 9% in Total Viewers (8.9 million viewers to 9.7) and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 to 2.9/8) from its first hour to its second hour. The unscripted special finished second in the 9 o'clock hour in viewers and young adults, defeating Fox's "House"-led "24" (8.9 million & 2.8/7) and NBC's original "Trauma" (4.8 million & 1.4/3).

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Castle" earned second place in the 10 o'clock hour to CBS' original "CSI: Miami," beating out NBC's original "Law & Order" by 3.9 million viewers (9.1 million vs. 5.2 million) and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.5/4).

"Castle" built on its lead-in across each of the key Men demographics: M18-34/M18-49/M25-54.

Tuesday

Surging over the year-ago evening (3/10/09) by 1.8 million viewers (6.2 million vs. 4.4 million) and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.5/4), ABC marked year-to-year Tuesday gains for the 6th week running in the key young adult sales demo.

"Lost" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Opposite stiff original competition at 9:00 p.m. on CBS ("NCIS: LA") and NBC (second hour of a 2-hour "Biggest Loser"), ABC's "Lost" shot up over its lead-in by 5.3 million viewers (9.5 million vs. 4.2 million) and by 180% in young adults (4.2/11 vs. 1.5/4), and grew its audience throughout its broadcast. Despite CBS' (original "NCIS") and NBC's (first hour of "Biggest Loser") decided lead-in advantages coming into the time period, ABC's "Lost" finished a dominant No. 1 in the 9 o'clock hour with Adults 18-49 (4.2/11), outdelivering second-place "NCIS: LA" by 20% (3.5/9), third-place "Biggest Loser" by 24% (3.4/9) and fourth-place Fox's "Idol"-led "Glee" replay by 45% (2.9/8).

"Lost" stood as Tuesday's No. 1 scripted TV show for the 6th straight week in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and among key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

"Lost" grew week to week in both Total Viewers (9.5 million vs. 9.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.2/11 vs. 4.1/10).

Wednesday

In Total Viewers (5.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/6), ABC saw its strongest Wednesday in 4 weeks since 2/10/10 -- taking second to Fox on the evening with Adults 18-34 (1.8/6) and Men 18-34 (1.5/5).

"Scrubs SP-3/10" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Drawing its biggest audience in its last 8 original telecasts, ABC's "Scrubs" generated its best numbers since December with Total Viewers (4.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.5/5-tie) since 12/8/09 and 12/15/09, respectively.

"The Middle" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Surging 53% from its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (2.3/7 vs. 1.5/5), ABC's "The Middle" took a strong second in its slot, leading its CBS comedy competition by 5% (2.2/7 beat "Gary Unmarried" for its 6th consecutive telecast) and the second half-hour of NBC's "Mercy" by 44% (1.6/5). The ABC freshman finished No. 1 in its slot with Women 18-49 (2.5/7-tie), ranking as the top-rated scripted show in the half-hour for its 10th straight original airing.

"The Middle" grew its numbers from the prior week by 7% in Total Viewers (6.3 million vs. 5.9 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7v s. 2.1/6).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Opposite Fox's "American Idol" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" built on its lead-in by 65% to finish as the No. 1 scripted show in its time slot for its 5th straight original telecast among Adults 18-49 (3.8/10). The ABC freshman comedy beat out CBS' veteran "Criminal Minds" in the half-hour by 15% in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10 vs. 3.3/9).

"Modern Family" qualified as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in young Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49) for its 5th consecutive first-run broadcast.

"Modern Family" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+1.0 million - 9.0 million vs. 8.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+12% - 3.8/10 vs. 3.4/9).

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:01 p.m.)

Airing against a surging "American Idol," ABC freshman "Cougar Town" saw its numbers jump week to week by double-digit percentages, gaining 13% in Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 5.4 million) and 13% among Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 vs. 2.3/6).

Thursday

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

Building on its lead-in by 6.6 million viewers (10.9 vs. 4.3 million) and 255% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/11 vs. 1.1/3), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" won the 9 o'clock hour in the key young adult sales demographic. Despite each network's decided Adult 18-49 lead-in advantage coming into the hour with original programming, including "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," "Community"/"Parks and Recreation" and "American Idol," "Grey's" outperformed CBS' "CSI" by 18% (3.3/9), NBC's "The Office"/"30 Rock" by 15% (3.4/9) and Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares" by 30% (3.0/8), respectively.

"Grey's" registered as Thursday's No. 1 scripted show among Adults 18-49. logging its 15th time in 16 original broadcasts this season to qualify as Thursday's top scripted series with young adults.

"Private Practice" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Growing week to week in viewers and young adults, ABC's "Private Practice" took second in the 10 o'clock hour, beating NBC's "Marriage Ref" by 1.7 million viewers (7.7 vs. 6.0 million) and by 8% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8 vs. 2.6/8). The ABC drama won its time period, outperforming its drama competition in the hour, CBS' "The Mentalist," by 32% in Adults 18-34 (2.5/8 vs. 1.9/6), by 70% in Women 18-34 (3.9/12 vs. 2.3/7) and by 5% in Women 18-49 (4.2/12 vs. 4.0/11). In fact it was the 16th consecutive original telecast this season for "Private Practice" to register as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

Sunday

ABC took second place on Sunday in Total Viewers (9.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7-tie), while ranking No. 1 on the evening across each of the key Women demographics: W18-34 (2.5/8), W18-49 (3.3/9) and W25-54 (4.1/10).

Please Note: Sunday was the first night of the changeover to Daylight Savings Time, resulting in a -9% week-to-week decline in primetime Adult 18-49 TV Usage Levels (35.6 vs. 39.3).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" won the 7 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (1.9/6), outpacing CBS' "60 Minutes" by 6% (1.8/6), NBC's debut of "Minute to Win It" by 27% (1.5/5) and Fox's "Til Death" 138% (0.8/3). In fact it was "AFV's" 3rd straight telecast to finish as the No. 1 TV series in its time period with young adults.

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

ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8.7 million) finished as the second-most-watched show in the 8 o'clock hour to CBS' "Amazing Race XVI," outdrawing NBC's second episode of "Minute to Win It" by 1.2 million viewers (7.5 million) and Fox's "The Simpsons"/"The Cleveland Show" by 3.4 million viewers (5.3 million). In fact "Home Edition" drew its biggest audience in more than 2 months since 1/10/10.

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

Against stiff competition in the 9 o'clock hour, including CBS' "Undercover Boss," NBC's "The Apprentice" (season premiere) and Fox's "Family Guy"/"Sons of Tucson" (series debut), ABC's "Desperate Housewives" took second with Total Viewers (12.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/9), and won its time slot across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In Adults 18-49, "Housewives" (3.7/9) beat NBC's season opener of "The Apprentice" by 32% (2.8/7) and Fox's comedy block by 32% (2.8/7). "Housewives" qualified as Sunday's No. 1 scripted show for its 4th consecutive broadcast in viewers and young adults.

"Housewives" generated its most-watched telecast since the beginning of January since 1/10/10.

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

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" finished No. 2 among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7-tie) and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

Like its lead-in, "Brothers & Sisters" pulled in its biggest overall audience (8.5 million) since the beginning of January since 1/10/10.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 3/8/10, unless stated otherwise.

Photo Courtesy of ABC.com

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