ABC is No. 2 to Fox in May, Airing 5 of the Top 12 TV Series

ABC is on track to finish No. 2 to an "Idol"-driven Fox in May 2010 among Adults 18-49 (2.7/8), its 2nd straight year to take second place for the month. The Net also earned a solid second for the month in Adults 18-34 (2.2/7), defeating CBS by 38% (1.6/5) and NBC by 38% (1.6/6).

· ABC Wins Final Week: ABC won the final complete Nielsen week of the May Sweep/TV Season (w/o 5/17/10) among Adults 18-49 (2.9/9), beating Fox by 7% (2.7/9), CBS by 32% (2.2/7) and NBC by 53% (1.9/6). Excluding only "Academy Award" and "Super Bowl" weeks, it represented the first-ever victory for ABC over Fox during a week with "American Idol."

· Top-Rated Nights: ABC ranked as the No. 1 network on Sunday during May in Adults 18-49, winning on 3 of 4 weeks. In fact was ABC's 6th consecutive May to rank No. 1 on Sunday night in the key young adult sales demo (2005-2010). ABC also finished No. 1 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 for the 4th straight May Sweep (2007-2010). In addition, ABC registered as Monday's most-watched TV network overall during May, ranking No. 1 on the night with Viewers on each of the final 10 weeks this season.

· Top-Rated Series: ABC aired 5 of the Top 12 TV series during May 2010 with Adults 18-49: "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 5, "Modern Family" - No. 6, "Lost" No. - 7, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 10 and "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 12. ABC's Dancing with the Stars" is currently the second-most watched TV show of the month, finishing as the No. 1 TV regular show of the week over both editions of "American Idol" on 6 of the last 8 Nielsen weeks of the 2009-10 TV Season.

2009-10 TV Season (9/21/09-5/23/10 - 35 Complete Weeks)

Based on all programming, ABC ranks No. 2 to Fox this season among Adults 18-34 (2.2/7-tie) and Women 18-34 (2.8/8). Excluding sports from the averages to account for the boosts that come from sports packages on CBS (NFL Sunday overruns and Playoff Games/Super Bowl/NCAA Basketball Tournament), NBC (NFL "Sunday Night Football" and Playoff Games/Winter Olympics) and Fox (NFL Sunday overruns and Playoffs Games/MLB post-season baseball), ABC is on the heels of No. 2 Fox in Total Viewers (pacing within 280k viewers - 8.63 million vs. 8.91 million) and No. 2 CBS in Adults 18-49 (pacing within two-tenths of a rating point - 2.7/7 vs. 2.9/8) this season. Also in the non-sports numbers, ABC leads sports-dependent NBC for the season by wide margins in both Total Viewers (+2.2 million - 8.6 million vs. 6.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (+29% - 2.7/7 vs. 2.1/6).

· ABC Outdraws a Sports-Driven NBC for the Season, Even with the 17-Night Winter Olympics: Despite NBC's enormous boost to its season averages from 17-nights of Winter Olympics coverage in February and a record-setting "Sunday Night Football" numbers, ABC leads NBC on a season-to-date basis in Total Viewers (8.6 million vs. 8.2 million) and pulled even among Adults 18-49 (2.7/7).

· ABC is the No. 1 Net on Thursday, as "Grey's" is the No. 1 Show: ABC is the No. 1 network this season on Thursday night among Adults 18-49 (tied w/CBS). In fact, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" stands as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key young adult sales demo for the 4th straight season.

· Season's Highest-Rated TV Series: ABC airs 5 of TV's Top 15 shows this season in Adults 18-49, including 2 of the Top 3 scripted shows: "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" are tied at No. 6 (tied as the No. 2 scripted series), "Desperate Housewives" - No. 10, "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelor" are tied at No. 14. The Network claims 4 of the Top 20 most-watched shows for the season: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 3, "Dancing with the Stars the Results" - No. 10, "Housewives" - No. 13 and "Grey's" - No. 16. The Net delivers 4 of the Top 10 TV shows with Women 18-49, with "Grey's," "Housewives," "The Bachelor" and "DWTS."

· Top Freshman Series: ABC claims 3 of the Top 7 new TV shows this season among Adults 18-49, including the 2 of the Top 4 scripted freshman series and the Top 2 sit-coms: "Modern Family" - No. 3 (No. 1 new sit-com/No. 2 scripted), "V" - No. 5 (No. 4 scripted) and "Cougar Town" - No. 7 (No. 2 sit-com).

· ABC is a Top Draw with Upscale Young Adults: ABC stands as the No. 2 television network among upscale young adults in the non-sports averages. ABC is the second-highest-rated network among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income (3.18 rating), leading CBS by +8% (2.93) and NBC by +23% (2.59). Also in the non-sports averages, ABC is the No. 1 network based on concentration or index of upscale young adults in its audience (Index of 119). In addition, ABC claims 9 of the Top 25 (4 of the Top 10) highest-rated regular TV series this season among high income young adults, including the No. 1 scripted show ("Lost") and 3 of the Top 5 scripted freshman series ("Modern Family," "Cougar Town" and "V"): "Lost" (7.91 rating) - No. 3 (No. 1 scripted), "The Bachelor" (7.01) - No. 6, "Grey's Anatomy" (6.97) - No. 7 (No. 3 scripted), "Desperate Housewives" (5.98) - No. 10, "Modern Family" (5.49) - No. 11, "Dancing with the Stars" (5.09) - No. 19, "V" (4.89) - No. 22, "Private Practice" (4.42) - No. 24 and "Brothers & Sisters" (4.37) - No. 25. ABC also qualifies as the No. 2 highest-rated network this season in the non-sports numbers on two of Nielsen's other premium upscale measures, including Adults 18-49 with 4+ Years of College and Professionals or Managers earning $100K+ Annual Income. Reporting an annual median income of $73,000 for their respective young adult audiences, ABC's "The Bachelor," "Lost," "Modern Family," "Cougar Town," "Grey's," "Private Practice," "Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" are each tied with the 2nd-highest incomes among broadcast series this season.

· ABC Series Among Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: On average during primetime this season, ABC's numbers grow from its originally reported Live + Same Day averages to the finalized Live + 7 Day ratings by +9% in Total Viewers (7.9 million to 8.6 million), by +13% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 to 2.7/7) and by +16% in Adults 18-34 (1.9/6 to 2.2/7). In fact, ABC is the top percentage gainer via DVR among the major networks on all 3 Nielsen measures. The Net's series are among the most popularly recorded and played back. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" remains TV's most-played-back show again this season. On average, "Grey's Anatomy" is the top gainer (tied w/"The Mentalist") from the originally reported numbers (Live + Same Day) to the finalized DVR playback numbers (Live + 7 Day), generating an additional +2.8 million viewers (13.2 million to 16.0 million). With a significant rise in DVR penetration year to year (from 31% to 36%), "Grey's" DVR bump is 4% higher than its average increase last season (+2.7 million viewers in 2008-09). The sixth-season ABC medical drama is the biggest gainer overall in Adult 18-49 rating, picking up 1.4 rating points in the finalized numbers - surging from a 4.8 rating to a 6.2 rating. A total of 10 of ABC's scripted series gain more than 1.0 million viewers on average from their originally reported numbers to the final DVR playback numbers, including "Grey's Anatomy" (+2.9 million - top gainer overall), "Lost" (+2.2 million), "Private Practice" (+1.9 million), "Castle" (+1.9 million), "V" (+1.8 million), "Modern Family" (+1.8 million), "Desperate Housewives" (+1.7 million), "FlashForward" (+1.6 million), "Brothers & Sisters" (+1.3 million) and "Cougar Town" (+1.1 million). Among Adults 18-49, 10 of ABC's scripted series also register substantial ratings increases of half-a-rating point or more: "Grey's Anatomy" (+1.5 rating point - top gainer overall), "Lost" (+1.1 rating), "Private Practice" (+1.0 rating), "Modern Family" (+1.0 rating), "V" (+0.8 rating), "Desperate Housewives" (+0.8 rating), "FlashForward" (+0.8 rating), "Cougar Town" (+0.7 rating), "Castle" (+0.6 rating) and "Brothers & Sisters" (+0.5 rating).

Source: The Nielsen Company, National "Most Current" Program Ratings (9/21/09-5/23/10), or as dated. Upscale data based on regular non-sports programming. DVR Playback Live + 7 Day based on regular, original telecasts only, 9/21/09-5/9/10.

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