ABC Ranks No. 1 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 and Dominates in Key Women

via press release:

ABC Ranks No. 1 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 and Dominates in Key Women

Freshman “FlashForward” Outdraws NBC’s Comedies at 8pm and Boosts

ABC’s Delivery in the Hour Week to Week in Viewers and Young Adults

Winning its 2-Hour Time Period in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “Private Practice” is

Up Over its Most Recent Telecast, Despite Airing Without a “Grey’s” Lead-in

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

ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday among in Adults 18-49 (2.9/8-tie) and dominated the evening across key Women demographics: W18-34 (3.7/11), W18-49 (4.1/11) and W25-54 (4.6/11).

“FlashForward” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC freshman “FlashForward” outperformed NBC’s comedies (“Community”/”Parks and Recreation”) in the 8 o’clock hour by 2.2 million viewers (7.3 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.1/6).  With the new drama, ABC was up in the hour week to week by 12% in Total Viewers and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (6.5 million and 2.0/6 on 11/26/09).

• Season to date, “FlashForward” surges over the first-reported numbers by 1.9 million viewers and by 9-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+29%) from the Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.

“Private Practice” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

Growing 10% from its first hour to its second hour, ABC’s “Private Practice” won its 2-hour time period among Adults 18-49, beating second-place NBC by 28% (3.2/9 vs. 2.5/7). In fact the ABC drama topped the 10 o’clock hour over its nearest competition by 32% in the key young adult sales demo (3.4/9 vs. 2.6/7 – CBS).  “Private Practice” stood as Thursday’s dominant No. 1 TV show among Women 18-49 (4.9/13).

• Despite airing without a “Grey’s Anatomy” lead-in this week, “Private Practice” was up from its most recent telecast (11/19/09) in both Total viewers (+7% - 9.5 million vs. 8.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+3% - 3.2/9 vs. 3.1/9).

• “Private Practice” sees impressive DVR gains from the first-reported numbers, shooting up by 1.8 million viewers and by 1.0 Adult 18-49 rating point (+26%) from the Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.

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 33% currently, from 28% 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), 12/3/09.  DVR Playback = 9/21-11/15/09.