ABC Delivers its Strongest Non-Sports Tuesday in Over 2 Years Among Adults 18-49 and in More than 9 Years Among Adults 18-34
Tuesday’s No. 1 Scripted Television Show Among Adults 18-49, “Lost” Opens its 6th Season with a Dominant Victory from 9-11pm
The “Lost” Premiere is Up Year to Year in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Registering the Series’ Top-Rated Telecast with Young Adults in Nearly 2 Years
“Lost” Generates ABC’s Strongest Series Numbers in the Time Period
Since November 2007 in Adults 18-49 and since May 2000 in Adults 18-34
Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With a “Lost” recap special at 8:00 p.m. and the 6th-season opener of “Lost” at 9:00 p.m., ABC (5.1/13) earned a strong second place on Tuesday to an “American Idol”-boosted Fox among Adults 18-49, beating out third-place CBS by 46% (3.5/9) and fourth-place NBC by 70% (3.0/8). ABC won the night by a wide margin among Men 18-34, beating out an “Idol”-driven Fox by 22% (5.0/15 vs. 4.1/13).
ABC marked its strongest Tuesday with non-sports programming in more than 2 years in Adults 18-49 and in more than 9 years with Adults 18-34 – since 11/27/07 and 1/9/01, respectively.
“Lost: Final Chapter” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Opposite Fox’s “American Idol” and CBS’ top-rated “NCIS,” ABC’s “Lost: Final Chapter” recap special drew 9.9 million viewers and a 4.1 rating, 11 share in Adults 18-49, offering a strong lead-in to the show’s season opener. The clip-show took second place to “Idol” in the hour, beating “NCIS” with Adults 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49).
Across the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), the special generated ABC’s 2nd-highest numbers in the hour this season.
“Lost” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Lost” opened up its 6th season on a new night against stiff original competition (CBS’ “NCIS: LA”/NBC’s “Biggest Loser”/Fox’s “Idol”-fueled “Kitchen Nightmares”) with a definitive Adult 18-49 victory, beating out its nearest competitor from 9:00-11:00 p.m. by 51% (5.6/14 vs. 3.7/9 – NBC’s “Biggest Loser”). “Lost” dominated all 4 of its half-hours in the key young adult sales demo. In a good sign for future viewing, the drama held steady with a 14 audience share through its first 3 half hours, and then grew to a 15 a share in its final half-hour.
ABC’s “Lost” stood as Tuesday’s No. 1 scripted TV show across the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).
“Lost” was up from its year ago season opener (on Tuesday, 1/21/09) by 6% in Total Viewers (12.1 million vs. 11.4 million), by 12% in Adults 18-49 (5.6/14 vs. 5.0/12) and by 20% in Adults 18-34 (5.5/15 vs. 4.6/13). The Lost premiere produced the series’ highest-rated telecast with Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 in nearly 2 years – since 2/21/08 and 2/7/08, respectively.
The 6th-year ABC drama premiere generated the Net’s top series numbers in the 2-hour time period since November 2007 with Adults 18-49 and since May 2000 with Adults 18-34 – since 11/27/07 and 5/2/00, respectively.
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 1.8 million viewers and jump 23% 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 35% currently, from 29% at the same point in 2009. 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: data and information provided by ABC. – Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 2/2/10)
