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Big ratings for
American Music Awards


ABC special averages a 5.5 in 18-49s, up 8 percent

Nov 23, 2009

The "American Music Awards" keep getting bigger, though not quite big enough to knock NBC from first place on Sunday.

The "AMAs" averaged a 5.5 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 11 p.m. last night, according to Nielsen overnights, marking the fourth straight year that the ceremony has grown in that demo.

The "AMAs," including a much-talked-about guy-on-guy kiss between Adam Lambert and one of his backup performers, were up 8 percent over last year's 5.1. The show had its best rating in the demo since 2004.

It also scored its best total viewers, 14.2 million, since 2002, up by 2 million over last year.

It probably didn't hurt that Lambert, the popular "American Idol" runner-up, hyped his performance beforehand, promising that it would be "sexy."

Still, NBC managed to maintain its Sunday night momentum, winning another week on the strength of "Sunday Night Football" despite the increased competition from ABC.

NBC averaged a 4.8 18-49 overnight rating and a 12 share for the night. ABC was second at 4.5/12, CBS third at 3.2/8, Fox fourth at 2.7/7 and Univision fifth at 1.2/3.

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.

Also, ratings for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” ABC’s NASCAR and CBS’s football overrun are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.

At 7 p.m. CBS was first with a 4.7 for NFL overrun and the start of “60 Minutes,” followed by NBC with a 2.8 for “Football Night in America.” ABC was third with a 1.8 for the end of NASCAR and “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” Fox fourth with a 1.5 for “Brothers” (1.0) and a repeat of “The Simpsons” (1.9) and Univision fifth with a 0.8 for “Maria de Todos los Angeles.”

NBC took the lead at 8 p.m. with a 5.1 for NFL pregame and the start of “SNF,” while ABC moved to second with a 4.6 for the first hour of the “American Music Awards.” CBS was third with a 3.5 for the end of “60 Minutes” and start of “The Amazing Race,” Fox fourth with a 3.3 for an original “Simpsons” (3.3) and “The Cleveland Show” (3.3) and Univision fifth with a 1.2 for the first hour of “Viva el Sueño.”

At 9 p.m. ABC led with a 6.1 for the “AMAs,” followed by NBC with a 5.7 for football. Fox was third with a 3.3 for “Family Guy” (3.8) and “American Dad” (2.8), CBS fourth with a 2.7 for the end of “Race” and start of “Cold Case,” and Univision fifth with a 1.3 for more “Sueño.”

ABC was first again at 10 p.m. with a 5.7 for the “AMAs,” with NBC a close second with a 5.6 for football. CBS was third with a 1.8 for the end of “Case” and start of “Three Rivers,” with Univision fourth with a 1.4 for the final hour of “Sueño.”

NBC also led the night among households with an 8.0 average overnight rating and a 13 share. CBS was second at 7.8/12, ABC third at 7.3/12, Fox fourth at 3.2/5 and Univision fifth at 1.7/3.



Toni Fitzgerald is a staf writer for Media Life.




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