via ABC press release:
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 |
| ABC Television Network |
| PRESS RELEASE - ENTERTAINMENT - |
| OVERNIGHT ABC RATINGS (FOR 3/17) |
| Quick Take for Tuesday, March 17, 2009 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings) |
| On an Ultra-Competitive Night, ABC Draws Biggest Tuesday in 2 Months
Opener of "DWTS Results" Surges from its Lead-in, Outdrawing NBC's "Biggest Loser" by 3.8 Million Viewers and Beating CBS' "Mentalist" in the Younger Demos Despite Facing Lower TV Usage Levels from St. Patrick's Day, ABC's Opener of ABC News' "Primetime: What Would You Do?" Generates the Series' Biggest |
| Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.) On an ultra-competitive Tuesday night, facing Fox's expanded 2-hour installment of "American Idol," CBS' original drama lineup ("NCIS"/"The Mentalist"/"Without a Trace") and originals on NBC (2-hour "Biggest Loser"/"L&O: SVU"), ABC attracted its biggest audience (9.4 million) on the evening in 2 months - since 1/20/09. Please note: Due to the St. Patrick's Day holiday, overall primetime TV usage levels were down notably among Adults 18-49 from the prior Tuesday (36.2% vs. 37.6%). "Dancing with the Stars Results" (9:00-10:00 p.m.) * "DWTS Results" generated ABC's biggest audience (12.4 million) in the slot with regular programming in nearly 4 months and its best Adult 18-49 number (2.7/7) in more than 2 months - since 11/25/08 and 1/6/09, respectively. "Primetime: What Would You Do?" (10:00-11:00 p.m.) * "What Would You Do?" garnered the series' biggest audience (7.8 million) this season and hit its top Adult 25-54 number (2.8/7) since mid-January - since 1/13/09. 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 30% currently, from 23% 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), 3/17/09 |
so even with DWTS losing to AI, ABC’s still happy.Very interesting.
Don’t read too much into it. It’s just spin.
I credit them for being able to find any silver lining at all, but this just really points out how bad things have been for ABC on Tuesdays for the last two months. I’d also note that while typically ABC has been sending us press releases directly, they didn’t with this one. I had to pull it off the web.
Indeed. If all you do is program Homeland Security USA and Scrubs repeats, you damn well better be able to beat your last 2 months with just about anything
Hi. Just wanted to add that my family LIVES for DWTS. I swear to God, ever since we got HD and the big screen, we cannot wait for the season to begin. We are glued together on the couch watching what has to be some of the most spectacular TV we’ve ever seen. The set is beautiful, very excited crowd, beautifully dressed with lots of celebrities on view. Obviously enjoying themselves. The band/orchestra is excellent, we just love the choices of songs for the performers to dance to and discuss endlessly whether the song selection and song performance had anything to do with the dancers energy, passion, talent and ability. The production is so sparkly and colorful, it’s better than a circus, the opera and a Broadway musical all rolled into one. I love the announcers, the guy from AFV is very witty and often hilarious. His partner is excellent, too, and always looks gorgeous. Loved her ruby-red dress last night with the turquoise jewelry. She always asks interesting questions to the dancers and is genuinely interested in them. We love all the judges, Carrie-Ann, Len Goodman and Bruno–they are fascinating in their critiques. I love how Bruno just eggs on the ladies to let themselves go, etc., and Carrie-Ann is darling all the time. Len is obviously such a pro, and we love it when he admits someone’s dance was good, even it had technical flaws. Their encouragement is genuine. Don’t get me started on the pro dancers–THEY are the ones we are watching the whole time and we know them all–Cheryl, Edyta, Julianne, Maksim, Tony, Derek, Lacey, Karina–we love Edyta the best, she has the best attitude, the most talent and the best costumes. I can’t go on, but we just love Dancing with the Stars so much, keep it going forever. Celebrity dancers are great, too, so surprising with their talent!