Premiere Ratings News

Update: 20:00 Here's ABC's spin on the numbers.

Quick Take for Wednesday, January 21, 2009
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)
ABC Generates its Highest-Rated Wednesday Evening, With Series Programming in Over 1-1/2 Years in Adults 18-49 The No. 1 Scripted TV Show of the Night in Adults 18-49, "Lost" Opens Ahead Of Fox's "Idol"-Fueled Debut of "Lie to Me" and Beats Out CBS' Original Dramas

"Lost" Attracts ABC's Biggest Audience with Series Programming in the Time Slot Since September 2007 and its Highest Adult 18-49 Number Since May 2007
"Lost" Tops Last Season's Finale in Adults 18-49, with its Best Result Since April
"Lost" Outpaces its May 2008 Averages in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With a "Lost" recap special at 8:00 p.m. and the 5th season opener of "Lost" at 9:00 p.m., ABC (4.5/11) earned a strong second place to an "American Idol"-boosted Fox among Adults 18-49, outdelivering third-place CBS by 55% (2.9/7) and fourth-place NBC by 137% (1.9/5).

* Excluding its telecasts of the "CMA Awards," ABC posted its highest-rated Wednesday in more than 1-1/2 years in Adults 18-49 - since 5/23/07.

"Lost: Destiny Calls" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite Fox's "American Idol," ABC's "Lost" recap special took second place in the 8 o'clock hour (8.5 million and 3.3/8), pulling in the Net's best numbers in the time period in 2 months - since 11/12/08.

"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Opening its 5th season against stiff competition, including Fox's series debut of "Lie to Me" coming out of "American Idol" and CBS' original dramas ("Criminal Minds"/"CSI: NY"), "Lost" drew an average audience of 11.4 million viewers and delivered a 5.0 rating, 12 share in Adults 18-49 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. Surging from its lead-in, "Lost" finished out as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49, besting Fox's "Idol"-driven debut of "Lie to Me" (Fox's 4.9 time-zone adjusted rating from 9:03-10:06 p.m.). In its second hour from 10:00-11:00pm, "Lost" moved up into a dominant No. 1 position, defeating second-place CBS' original "C.S.I.: NY" in the hour by 63% in the key young adult sales demo (4.9/13 vs. 3.0/8). In addition to Adults 18-49, "Lost" also stood Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV program across each of the key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).

* "Lost" generated ABC's biggest audience with scripted programming in the time period since September '07 and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since May '07 - since 9/26/07 and 5/23/07, respectively.

* Besting its 4th season finale last May, "Lost" posted its highest Adult 18-49 rating since April (4/24/08).

* "Lost" improved upon where it finished out last season in original episodes during the 2008 May Sweep (4/24-5/21/08). Versus its Live + Same Day averages for originals in May '08 (11.1 million & 4.9/13), "Lost" was up in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. It should definitely be noted in any comparisons to its 4th season opener last January (Thursday, 1/31/08) that "Lost" premiered against considerably less competition a year ago, facing repeat programming on CBS and an "Idol"-less Fox on the evening with "Don't Forget the Lyrics."

Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average last season in originals Lost saw its overall audience grow by 1.9 million viewers and jump 19% in Adults 18-49 (+1.0 rating point) from its first-reported Live + Same Day and finalized Live + 7 Day numbers.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 29% currently, from 22% at the same point in 2008. 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: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 1/21/09.

Source: ABC


The two-hour “Lost” debut (11.37 million, 5.0/12) was down 25% from last year in the adult demo. The heavily serialized and increasingly complex drama was expected to drop, though this is a steeper percentage than one would have liked. Also, last year the series debuted in the powerhouse Thursdays at 9 spot while taking advantage of less competition because of the writers strike. The show drained a couple tenths throughout its two hours. The lead-in, a “Lost” recap show (8.5 million, 3.3/8), did quite well, actually placing second at 8 p.m. after “Idol.”

Source: THR Feed