ABC'S PAN AM TAKES OFF AS NET'S TOP SERIES TELECAST IN THE HOUR IN 2-1/2 YEARS

Quick Take for Sunday, September 25, 2011
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Up Over its May Sweep Average, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” Beats CBS’
Season Opener of “The Good Wife” in the 9pm Hour by 41% in Adults 18-49

Becoming the First Show to Build on “Housewives” in Total Viewers Since ’06,
ABC’s “Pan Am” Takes Off as Sunday’s Most-Watched Scripted Show Overall

“Pan Am” Debuts with ABC’s Top Season Premiere Results in the Hour in 3 Years
And Stands as ABC’s Most-Watched Series Telecast in the Slot Since March 2009

“Desperate Housewives” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Opposite heavy NFL-fueled competition during the 9:00 p.m. hour on Sunday from NBC (“Sunday Night Football”) and Fox (NFL overrun-boosted comedy premieres – “Family Guy”/”AmericanÂ Dad”), ABC’s 8th season premiere of “Desperate Housewives” towered over CBS’ season premiere of “The Good Wife” by 41% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/7 vs. 2.2/5).Â In addition, the ABC drama qualified as Sunday’s No. 1 entertainment program with Women 18-49.

* Pacing ahead of where it finished out last season, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” topped its 2011 May Sweep average in Adults 18-49 (+3% – 3.1/7 vs. 3.0/7).

DVR Playback Note:Â Sunday’s biggest gainer during the 2010-11 TV season via time-shifting, “Desperate Housewives” increased by 2.0 million viewers and by an additional 9-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point (+26%) from the first reported L+SD numbers to finalized L+7 Day numbers.

“Pan Am” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its “Housewives” lead-in by 1.1 million viewers and holding 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience opposite NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” in the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s series debut of “Pan Am” took flight as Sunday’s most-watched scripted TV show.Â In fact, “Pan Am” became the first program to build on “Desperate Housewives” in overall viewers since “Grey’s Anatomy” in May 2006 (on 5/14/06).Â The No. 1 non-sports program during the 10:00 p.m. hour, the new ABC drama beat out the premiere of CBS’ time-period veteran “CSI: Miami” by 9% in Total Viewers (10.9 million vs. 10.0 million) and by 41% in Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.2/5).

* Improving the hour year to year in viewers (+14%) and young adults (+7%) over the year-ago opener of “Brother & Sisters” (9.5 million and 2.9/8), “Pan Am” posted ABC’s best season-opening numbers in the time period in 3 years – since 9/28/08.Â In addition, “Pan Am” produced ABC’s biggest audience in the slot with an hour-long series telecast in more than 2-1/2 years – since 3/1/09.

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 42% currently, from 38% at the same point in 2010.Â 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: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 9/25/11.