Ratings News

The fall finale of “Lost” dominated its time period and stood as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic for the 6th week in a row (on each of its telecasts this season), defeating second-place CBS’ “Criminal Minds” in the slot by 37% (7.0/17 vs. 5.1/12). The margin of victory for “Lost” over CBS’ older skewing “Criminal Minds” was an even wider 59% among Adults 18-34 (5.9/16 vs. 3.7/10). The difference between the competing ABC and CBS dramas is clear: Premiere to date, the median age for the “Criminal Minds” viewer is 53.5 years, over 10 years older than the “Lost” viewer, at 43.4 years. On average this season, CBS’ “Criminal Minds” garners 58% of its audience from viewers 50+, pushing up its Total Viewer count. In contrast, 64% of the audience for “Lost” is comprised of viewers under 50 years old.

• In its fall finale “Lost” attracted its second-largest audience (17.1 million) this season, behind only its season opener on 10/4/06.

• For the 6th week in a row, “Lost” qualified as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show in each of the key adult demos (AD18-34 – 5.9/16, AD18-49 – 7.0/17 and AD25-54 – 7.8/17) and in Teens 12-17 (4.2/13).
Source: ABC Medianet