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ABC holds its
Thursday edge, barely

Averages a 3.7 in 18-49s for another Thursday

By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 6, 2009

ABC held its lead on Thursday night, though not by much. The network won its fifth Thursday in six weeks after placing second to Fox and baseball last week to open the November sweeps.

ABC averaged a 3.7 adults 18-49 rating and 10 share, according to Nielsen overnights, 6 percent ahead of No. 2 CBS at 3.5/9.

ABC had the No. 1 show of the night with "Grey's Anatomy," which averaged a 5.0 rating at 9 p.m., as well as the night's No. 3 show, 10 p.m. drama "Private Practice."

NBC had the night's No. 2 show, "The Office," which averaged a 3.9 at 9 p.m.

The night was likely impacted by strong ratings for Univision's Latin Grammy Awards, which generated the network's best 18-49 and 18-34 numbers in months. In the latter, Univision placed second only to ABC in primetime.

For the night among 18-49s, NBC and Univision tied for third at 2.4/7, Fox fifth at 2.1/6 and CW sixth at 1.6/4.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

CBS began the night in the lead with a 3.7 at 8 p.m. for “Survivor,” followed by ABC with a 2.6 for “FlashForward.” Fox was third with a 2.5 for “Bones,” Univision fourth with a 2.4 for the first hour of  Latin Grammys, NBC fifth with a 2.2 for “Community” (2.3, its best rating yet in this timeslot) and “Parks and Recreation” (2.2) and CW sixth with a 2.0 for “The Vampire Diaries," its second-highest rating this season.

ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.0 for “Grey’s,” while CBS and NBC tied for second at 3.4, CBS for “CSI” and NBC for “Office” (3.9) and “30 Rock” (2.9). Univision was fourth with a 2.5 for more Latin Grammys, Fox fifth with a 1.7 for “Fringe” and CW sixth with a 1.2 for “Supernatural.”

ABC was first again at 10 p.m. with a 3.5 for “Private Practice,” with CBS second with a 3.4 for “The Mentalist.” Univision was third with a 2.4 for Latin Grammys and NBC fourth with a 1.6 for “The Jay Leno Show.”

CBS led the night among households with an 8.9 average overnight rating and a 15 share. ABC was second at 6.8/11, Fox third at 4.1/7, NBC fourth at 3.6/6, Univision fifth at 2.8/5 and CW sixth at 2.1/3.

Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.	© 2009 Media Life Magazine

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