Overnights
Solid season debut for ABC's 'Lost'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 22, 2009 - 11:51:27 AM

Like just about everything else on broadcast, “Lost” saw a substantial dip compared to last year for last night’s season debut. But it still gave ABC a big boost on a night where it has struggled, even against the much-hyped premiere of Fox’s “Lie to Me.”

“Lost” averaged a 5.0 adults 18-49 rating for its two-hour debut at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, down 25 percent from last season’s 6.7 for its premiere.

Last year “Lost” aired against weak competition at the height of the writers’ strike. Last night it had much tougher competition and in fact did not even win its timeslot in its first hour. “Lie,” which got a cushy “American Idol” lead-in, bettered “Lost” by 0.1 at 9 p.m., averaging a 5.2 to the ABC drama’s 5.1.

“Lost” did revive ABC’s Wednesday, where the network had been lagging for months with a trio of second-year dramas. The network finished second on the night behind Fox, with the network's best performance in the timeslot for a regularly scheduled scripted series since May 2007.

“Lie” retained 54 percent of “Idol’s” lead-in but did see a 24 percent decline from its first half hour to its second, from a 5.9 to a 4.5.

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. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
 
Fox led the night among 18-49s with a 7.4 average overnight rating and an 18 share. ABC was second at 4.5/11, CBS third at 2.9/7, NBC fourth at 1.9/5, Univision fifth at 1.7/4 and CW sixth at 0.5/1.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 9.6 for “Idol,” with ABC second with a 3.3 for “Lost: Destiny Calls.” CBS was third with a 2.2 for “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (2.1) and “Gary Unmarried” (2.2), Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Cuidado con el Angel,” NBC fifth with a 1.5 for “Knight Rider” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for “13 – Fear is Real.”
 
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 5.2 for “Lie,” followed by ABC with a 5.1 for “Lost.” CBS was third with a 3.5 for “Criminal Minds,” Univision fourth with a 1.9 for “Fuego en la Sangre,” NBC fifth with a 1.7 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a “90210” rerun.
 
At 10 p.m. ABC took the lead with a 4.9 for more “Lost,” while CBS moved to second with a 3.0 for “CSI: NY.” NBC was third with a 2.5 for “Law & Order” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”
 
Fox also finished first for the night among households with an 11.0 average overnight rating and a 17 share. CBS was second at 7.0/11, ABC third at 6.2/10, NBC fourth at 4.3/7, Univision fifth at 2.3/4 and CW sixth at 0.8/1.