Thursday, May 22, 2008
ABC Television Network
PRESS RELEASE - PRESS RELEASE - ENTERTAINMENT -
ABC FINAL MAY 2008 SWEEP AND 2007-08 SEASON PRIMETIME RATINGS HIGHLIGHTS
ABC Takes a Strong Second to Fox in May '08 in Adults 18-49, Dominating Thursday And Sunday and Claiming TV's Top 2 Scripted Series with "Housewives" and "Grey's"
Improving its Season Standing Year to Year in the Key Young Adult Sales Demo,
ABC Finishes No. 2 to Fox for the '07-08 TV Season in Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34
ABC Airs 7 of the Top 20 TV Shows in Adults 18-49 for the Season and
Places 5 of the Top 10 Freshman Series of the Season in the Key Sales Demo
"Desperate Housewives" Ranks as the Season's Most-Watched Scripted TV Series
While ABC Airs 3 of the Top 5 Scripted Shows in Adults 18-49 During 2007-08
For the 3rd Straight Season, ABC is a Top Destination for Upscale Young Adults
2008 May Sweep (4/24-5/21/08)ABC took second in May 2008 to an "Idol"-driven Fox across all key adult demos: Adults 18-34 (2.4/8), Adults 18-49 (3.1/9) and Adults 25-54 (3.7/10-tie). Among Adults 18-49, ABC (3.1/9) outdelivered third-place CBS by 11% (2.8/8) and fourth-place NBC by 63% (1.9/5).
* Dominant No. 1 on Thursday and Sunday Nights: ABC finished a dominant No. 1 on Thursday and Sunday during May in Adults 18-49, beating out its nearest competition on each evening by 16% (5.0/13 vs. 4.3/11 - CBS) and 63% (4.4/12 vs. 2.7/8 - Fox) on average, respectively. In fact ABC won each Thursday of the 2008 May Sweep in Adults 18-49, ranking No. 1 on all 8 Thursdays during the sweep month over the past 2 years. Similarly, by winning each Sunday of the 2008 May Sweep, ABC marked its 4th consecutive May to rank No. 1 on each Sunday of the sweep - 16 consecutive May Sundays from 2005-08.
* Top-Rated Regular Series: ABC delivered 7 of the Top 15 TV series during May 2008 in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 scripted shows with "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives": "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 3, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 4, "Lost" - No. 6, "Dancing w/Stars Results" - No. 10, "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 11, while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Brothers & Sisters" tied at No. 15. The Net aired 4 of the Top 7 most-watched television shows for the sweep: "Dancing w/Stars Results" - No. 4, "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 5, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 6 and "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 7.
* Highest-Rated Scripted Telecasts: Between "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," ABC broadcasted each of the Top 7 highest-rated individual scripted telecasts in May in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.
* No. 1 10 O'clock Show on Any Net: ABC's "Lost" stood as TV's No. 1 10 o'clock show on any night across each of the key adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/25-54). In fact the fourth-year ABC drama dominated its Thursday time period on each telecast in May.
2007-08 TV Season (9/24/07-5/21/08)On average during the 2007-08 TV Season, based on "all programming," ABC ranked No. 2 among Adults 18-49 (3.0/8-tie) and Adults 18-34 (2.4/7) to a "Super Bowl" and "American Idol"- boosted Fox, moving up from third place last year in the key young adult sales demographic. The Network also held second place across each of the key women demos: W18-34 (3.1/9), W18-49 (3.9/10) and W25-54 (4.6/11).
* ABC Wins November for the 3rd Consecutive Year and Improves its February Rank Year to Year: ABC won the 2007 November Sweep among Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), the Net's 3rd consecutive November to hold the top spot in the key sales demo. The Net dominated the month across the key women demos, maintaining solid advantages over its closest competition: Women 18-34 +23% (3.7/11 vs. 3.0/8 - Fox), Women 18-49 + 24% (4.7/12 vs. 3.8/10 - CBS) and Women 25-54 +14% (5.6/13 vs. 4.9/12 - CBS). Moving up in rank year to year, ABC took second place to a "Super Bow"/"Idol"-fueled Fox in the 2008 February Sweep among Total Viewers (8.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/7). In addition, the Network led Thursday night during February for the second year in a row.
* ABC a Solid No. 2 in the "Non-Sports" Numbers, Well Ahead of CBS and NBC: Bolstered by an attractive slate of entertainment programming, ABC moved well ahead of CBS and NBC when sports programming is excluded from the season averages, to account for the boosts that came from professional sports coverage: NBC ("Sunday Night Football"/NFL Playoffs), CBS (Sunday NFL overruns/NFL Playoffs) and Fox (Super Bowl/Sunday NFL overruns/NFL Playoffs/MLB Post-Season). Among Adults 18-49 in the "non-sports" averages, ABC (3.1/8) led CBS by +7% (2.9/8) and NBC by +19% (2.6/7).
* Top Freshman TV Series: ABC claimed 5 of the Top 10 rookie series of the 2007-08 TV Season among Adults 18-49 and 5 of the Top 10 most-watched new shows: Adults 18-49 = "Private Practice" - No. 3, "Samantha Who?" and "Oprah's Big Give" tied at No. 5, "Pushing Daisies" - No. 8 and "Here Come the Newlyweds" - No. 10/Total Viewers = "Samantha Who?" - No. 2, "Oprah's Big Give" - No. 3, "Private Practice" - No. 5, "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" - No. 6 and "Pushing Daisies" - No. 8. ABC's "Samantha Who?" closed as the season's No. 1 new comedy in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, as well as the most-watched freshman scripted series overall.
* Season's Highest-Rated TV Shows: In Adults 18-49, ABC broadcasted 7 of the Top 20 TV shows for the season, including 3 of the Top 5 scripted series with "Housewives," "Grey's" and "Lost": "Desperate Housewives" - No. 4, "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 5, "Lost" - No. 9, "Dancing with the Stars-MON" (Fall) - No. 10, "DWTS the Results Show-TU" (Fall) - No. 14, "Dancing with the Stars" (Spring) - No. 16 and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" - No. 18. ABC claimed 6 of the Top 10 most-watched series of the season, including the most-watched scripted series in "Desperate Housewives": "Dancing with the Stars-MON" (Fall) - No. 3, "Dancing with the Stars" (Spring) - No. 4, "DWTS the Results Show-TU" (Fall) - No. 5, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 6, "DWTS Results" (Spring) - No. 7 and "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 10. Between "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," ABC aired the highest-rated scripted TV series in Adults 25-54 and across the women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).
* For the 3rd Straight Season, ABC a Top Draw with Upscale Young Adults: Outpacing perennial leader NBC for the third season in a row, ABC stood as the second-highest-rated network among upscale young adults in the non-sports averages, moving up from fourth place just four seasons ago ('03-04). Excluding sports, ABC ranks a strong No. 2 among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income (3.35 rating), leading NBC by +20% (2.79), CBS by +22% (2.75) and on the heels of Fox for No. 1 (3.60). In addition, ABC placed 8 of the Top 20 highest-rated regular TV series for the season among affluent young adults, including the Top 3 scripted shows with "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost": "Desperate Housewives" (8.59 rating) - No. 3, "Grey's Anatomy" (8.43) - No. 4, "Lost" (8.04) - No. 5, "Dancing with the Stars-MON (Fall)" (6.41) - No. 9, "Dancing with the Stars (Spring)" (5.90) - No. 12, "DWTS the Results Show-TU" (Fall) (5.70) - No. 14, "Brothers & Sisters" (4.96) - No. 19 and "Private Practice" (4.97) - No. 20. ABC ranked as the No. 1 network in the non-sports numbers on two of Nielsen's other upscale measures, including Adults 18-49 with 4+ Years of College and Professionals or Managers earning $100K+ Annual Income. ABC's "Lost" reports the highest annual median income for a broadcast series this season among young adults ($78K), tied with NBC's "The Office." With an annual median income of $73K for their respective young adult audiences, the Network's "Grey's," "Housewives," "Private Practice," "Boston Legal" and "Eli Stone" all tie with the second-highest median incomes on network TV this season. ABC was home to the Top 2 new scripted television series this season with affluent young adults, in "Private Practice" (No. 1) and "Samantha Who?" (No. 2).
* ABC Series Among Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" is TV's most-played-back show this season. On average "Grey's Anatomy" stood as the biggest actual gainer from total DVR contribution this season, receiving an additional 3.78 million viewers via "time-shifted" viewing. In fact ABC series represented 4 of the Top 15 largest playback draws for the season in total actual DVR contribution: "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 1 (+3.78 million), "Lost" - No. 4 (+3.42 million), "Desperate Housewives" - No. 9 (+2.69 million) and "Private Practice" - No. 12 (+1.95 million).
* ABC Airs Top English Language Shows with Hispanic Viewers: ABC aired 5 of the Top 10 most-watched English language TV series this season among Hispanic Total Viewers: "Dancing with the Stars-MON" (Fall) - No. 3, "DWTS the Results Show-TU" (Fall) - No. 4, "DWTS Results" (Spring) - No. 6, "Dancing with the Stars" (Spring) - No. 7 and "Desperate Housewives" - No. 8.
Source: Nielsen Media Research (Most Current Program Ratings), 9/24/07-5/21/08, or as dated. DVR playback based differential between Live and Live + 7 Day ratings, original telecasts only, 9/24/07-5/4/08.
