Opposite Fox’s “American Idol” Premiere, ABC’s Tuesday is Up by 15% in Viewers and by a Substantial 64% in Adults 18-49 Over the Year Ago Night

via press release:

“Homeland Security USA” Improves the 8pm Time Period by 1.6 Million Viewers

and by 50% in Adults 18-49 Over ABC’s Year-Ago Performance

“Scrubs” at 9:30pm Holds 100% of its Lead-in in All Key Adult Demos

ABC News’ “Primetime: What Would You Do?” is Up Week to Week in Viewers

and Adults 18-49, Hitting Series Highs in Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34

Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

Opposite the season premiere of Fox’s “American Idol,” ABC was up over the same night last year (01/15/08) by 15% in Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.1 million) and by a substantial 64% in the key Adults 18-49 sales demo (2.3/6 vs. 1.4/3).    

“Homeland Security USA” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Airing against the first hour of “American Idol,” ABC’s “Homeland Security USA” saw increases for the Net at 8:00 p.m. over the same night last year, up by 1.6 million viewers (6.0 million viewers vs. 4.4 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 vs. 1.2/3).    

·       Despite the competition, “Homeland Security USA” grew from start to finish among Adults 18-34 (1.3/4 to 1.4/4) and Adults 18-49 (1.8/5 to 1.9/5). 

“Scrubs” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

ABC’s “Scrubs” earned second place in its half-hour among Men 18-34 (2.2/6) to Fox’s “American Idol.”

“Scrubs” (9:30-10:00 p.m.)

At 9:30pm, the night’s second episode of “Scrubs” retained 100% of its lead-in across each of the key Adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (2.4/6), Adults 18-49 (2.2/5) and Adults 25-54 (2.0/4).   

“Primetime: What Would You Do?” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Airing against established original dramas on NBC (“Law & Order: SVU”) and CBS (“Without a Trace”), ABC News’ “Primetime: What Would You Do?” was up over its week-ago season premiere in both Total Viewers (7.3 million vs. 7.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.7/7).  The ABC newsmagazine ranked No. 2 in the hour, beating “Without a Trace” among Adults 18-34 (2.6/7 vs. 1.7/5) and Men 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.2/6).   

·       “Primetime: What Would You Do?” hit series highs in Adults 18-34 (2.6/7) and Men 18-34 (2.3/7).   

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 Program Ratings), 1/13/09.