ABC Is #1 In Sunday Ratings For 3rd Straight Week

ABC took first-place on Sunday for the 3rd consecutive week among Adults 18-49, beating second-place Fox by 13%, third-place NBC by 24% and fourth-place NBC by 44%.

ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos ranked a dominant #1 in the 7 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49, outdelivering its nearest completion by 33% (CBS' 60 Minutes). In fact the venerable 20-year veteran ABC video clip-show led the hour for the 3rd time in 4 broadcasts in the key young adult sales demo. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, AFV marked its strongest performance in 10 weeks - since 2/28/10.

From 8-9pm, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition earned second place to CBS' season finale of Amazing Race among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series was the #1 broadcast in the hour with Kids 2-11. ABC's Home Edition topped its NBC unscripted competition in the hour by wide margins, defeating Minute To Win It by 2.5 million viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49.

For the 3rd consecutive week, ABC's Desperate Housewives won Sunday's 9 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49. From 9-10pm, Housewives defeated Fox's animated comedies by 12% (Family Guy/American Dad), the opening hour of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice by 37% and the first hour of CBS' Jesse Stone movie by 164%.

ABC's Brothers & Sisters took second place in the 10 o'clock hour with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while ranking #1 against the final hour of CBS' movie and NBC's 2-hour Celebrity Apprentice across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Building its Adult 18-49 audience for its 3rd straight telecast, Brothers & Sisters marked its highest number in nearly 4 months - since 1/17/10.

Quick Take for Sunday, May 9, 2010 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Takes First Place Sunday for the 3rd Consecutive Week in Adults 18-49

Hitting a 10-Week High in Viewers and Young Adults, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Wins in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Time in 4 Telecasts

"Housewives" Tops Sunday's 9pm Hour in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Straight Week

Building its Adult 18-49 Audience for the 3rd Week in a Row, "Brothers & Sisters" Marks its Highest-Rated Telecast in Nearly 4 Months

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC took first place on Sunday for the 3rd consecutive week in Adults 18-49 (2.6/8), beating second-place Fox by 13% (2.3/7), third-place NBC by 24% (2.1/6) and fourth-place CBS by 44% (1.8/5).

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

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" ranked a dominant No. 1 in the 7 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49 (2.0/8), outdelivering its nearest competition by 33% (CBS' "60 Minutes" = 1.5/6). In fact the venerable 20-year veteran ABC video clip-show won its time slot for the 3rd time in 4 broadcasts in the key young adult sales demo.

· In Total Viewers (7.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/8), "AFV" marked its strongest performance in 10 weeks since 2/28/10.

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

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" earned second place to CBS' season finale of "The Amazing Race XVI" among Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted series was the No. 1 broadcast in the hour with Kids 2-11. ABC's "Home Edition" topped its NBC unscripted competition in the hour by wide margins, defeating "Minute to Win It" by 2.5 million viewers (7.6 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 38% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 1.6/5).

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

For the 3rd straight week, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" won Sunday's 9 o'clock hour among Adults 18-49. From 9:00-10:00 p.m., "Housewives" (3.7/10) defeated Fox's animated comedies by 12% ("Family Guy"/"American Dad" = 3.3/9), the opening hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" by 37% (2.7/7) and the first hour of CBS' "Jesse Stone" movie by 164% (1.4/4).

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

ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" took second place in the 10 o'clock hour with Total Viewers (8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/7), while ranking No. 1 against the final hour of CBS' movie and NBC's 2-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Building its Adult 18-49 audience for its 3rd straight telecast, Brothers & Sisters marked its highest number in nearly 4 months  since 1/17/10.

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 31% 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.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 5/9/10.

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