Lost S3 Finale Repeat Ratings

“Lost” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Starting out against an “Idol”-boosted installment of Fox’s “Moment of Truth,” a special replay of the third season finale of “Lost” built on its lead-in to draw an average audience of 8.5 million viewers and a 3.3 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. The show was enhanced with on-screen facts and back story. The night prior to its fourth season opener (Thursday – 1/31/08 at 9:00 p.m. ET), the “Lost” encore took second to “Moment of Truth” at 9:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (3.3/8) and then moved up to No. 1 during the 10 o’clock hour, beating NBC’s original “Law & Order” by 10% (3.4/9 vs. 3.1/8). In fact the repeat “Lost” ranked No. 1 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. across each of the key young adults, men and women demos: AD18-34 (2.6/8), M18-49 (2.9/8), W18-49 (3.9/10), M18-34 (2.1/6) and W18-34 (3.2/9).

• Compared to the Net’s performance in the 2-hour time period on the year-ago night with original programming (“According to Jim”/”In Case of Emergency“/”Primetime”), the repeat “Lost” improved ABC’s delivery by 2.9 million viewers and by 65% in Adults 18-49 (5.6 million and 2.0/5 on 1/31/07).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year to year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating trends based on the Live + Same Day data stream may be somewhat distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has nearly doubled from 12% at the same point in 2006, up to 22% currently. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. Therefore, 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), 01/30/08.

Source: ABC