Finale TV Ratings

"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in by 5.4 million viewers and by 133% in Adults 18-49, the fourth-season finale of "Lost" moved ABC up into a dominant first place during from 9:00-11:00 p.m. and towered above its competitors on the evening as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (12.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.9/13). In fact "Lost" topped the No. 2 Thursday show, Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" (9.4 million and 3.6/11), by 2.8 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49. In addition, "Lost" won its time period in Adults 18-49 for the 13th consecutive original airing, leading its slot in the key sales demo on every telecast this season. Gaining audience during each half-hour, "Lost" gained 1.0 million viewers (11.7 million to 12.7 million) and grew by 18% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/13 to 5.3/15) from start to finish.

Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average this season "Lost" has seen its overall audience grow by 1.9 million viewers and jump 18% in Adults 18-49 from its initial broadcast through 7 days of recorded DVR playback (Differential between Live + Same Day and Live + 7 Day Numbers).

* Despite airing 8 days past the end of the official TV Season into summer, "Lost" attracted its largest audience in nearly 3 months - since 3/6/08. In addition, "Lost" generated ABC's strongest Men 18-34 (3.7/11) and Men 18-49 (4.5/13) numbers in the 2-hour time period since early February and its highest Men 25-54 rating (5.0/13) since late January - since 2/7/08 and 1/31/08, respectively.

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 jumped from 16% at the same point in 2006-07, up to more than 24% currently. 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: Variety