Primetime Ratings Report For the week of January 17-23, 2005

With Continued Momentum Over its Year-ago Numbers, ABC is Up Over the Same Week Last Year for the 8th Time in 9 Weeks

"Lost," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Desperate Housewives" Each Finish in the Week's Top 10 TV Programs Among Adults 18-49

ABC Sees Improved Results Over Last Year, Post-"Monday Night Football"

Opposite Stiff Competition Monday at 10pm, the Series Debut of "Supernanny" Boosts the Time Period by Nearly 4 Million Viewers and by 50% Over Last Year

ABC is Up Year-to-year Against the Tuesday Season Opener of "American Idol"

With Remarkably Strong Performances from Each of its Shows, ABC Places a Solid Second to "Idol"-Inflated Fox on Wednesday, Up by 5.4 Million Viewers and 49% in Adults 18-49 Over the Same Night Last Year

"Lost" Takes a Bite Out of "Idol," as it Pushes the Fox Show Well Below its Year-ago Wednesday Opener, While Marking the ABC Drama's Third-Highest Numbers Yet

ABC's "Alias" Wins its Time Period for the Third Straight Week in Viewers and Young Adults, Despite Competing Against the "Idol"-Driven Debut of Fox's "Point Pleasant"

With its Best Outing in 6 Weeks, ABC's "Wife Swap" Beats CBS' "C.S.I.: NY" Among Adults 18-49, While Winning the 10 o'clock Hour Among Adults 18-34

Although it Faced the AFC Championship Game on the Night, ABC Grows by 10.3 Million Viewers and by 183% in Adults 18-49 Over the Same Sunday Last Year

Opposite the NFL Playoff Game, "Desperate Housewives" Draw its Second- Largest Audience Ever and Beats Football Across the Key Women Demos

"Boston Legal" Posts the Series' Best-Ever Numbers in Viewers and Adults 18-49

WEEK No. 18:
As the Net withstood stiff competition for its regular series throughout the week, including "American Idol" on Tuesday and Wednesday and the "AFC Championship Game" on Sunday, ABC posted increases over the same week a year ago for the 8th time in 9 weeks among viewers and young adults. Versus the same week last year (w/o 1/19/04), ABC's numbers grew by 33% in Total Viewers (10.0 million vs. 7.5 million) and 46% in Adults 18-49 (3.8/9 vs. 2.6/7).

Rankings: Although it faced the high rated "AFC Championship Game" on Sunday night, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" stood as the No. 1 scripted program of the week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Looking at all programming, ABC claimed 5 of the Top 20 TV programs of the week in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo, including 3 in the Top 10: "Desperate Housewives" - No. 3, "Lost" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" tied at No. 8, "Boston Legal" - No. 15 and "Alias" - No. 17.

Monday
ABC finished ahead of Fox ("Trading Spouses"/"24") on the night in Total Viewers (9.7 million vs. 9.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.9/9 vs. 3.8/9). In addition, the Net took second place during primetime among Women 18-34 (4.6/11).

* Compared to its average last season post-"Monday Night Football," in its first two weeks of regular programming following football this season, ABC has improved its performance on the night by 1.7 million viewers (9.8 million vs. 8.1 million) and by 58% among Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 vs. 2.6/7).

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: How'd They Do That?" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
"How'd They Do That?" took second place in its hour across the adult demos: Adults 18-34 (3.4/10), Adults 18-49 (4.2/10) and Adults 25-54 (4.9/11). ABC ranked No. 1 in the hour among Women 18-49 (5.3/12-tie) and Women 25-54 (5.9/12) for the second straight week.

* On its second regular telecast in the hour, "How'd They Do That" retained 100% of its week-earlier premiere Adult 18-49 rating (4.2/10) and grew its audience among Men 18-49 (3.2/9 vs. 3.1/8) and Men 25-54 (3.8/9 vs. 3.7/9).

"The Bachelorette" (9:00 -10:00 p.m.)
ABC's "The Bachelorette" earned second place in its hour among young women: Women 18-34 (4.9/11) and Women 18-49 (5.5/11).

* Versus its delivery in the hour last week, "The Bachelorette" retained 97% of its season premiere Adult 18-49 audience (3.7/8) and posted an increase among Women 18-49 (5.5/11 vs. 5.4/11).

* "The Bachelorette" gained viewers (8.2 million to 8.5 million) and young adults (3.6/8 to 3.8/8) from beginning to end.

"Supernanny" (10:00 -11:00 p.m.)
Opposite stiff time period competition from CBS' original "CSI: Miami" and NBC's "The Medium," the series debut of ABC's "Supernanny" built on its lead-in by 1.7 million viewers (10.0 million vs. 8.3 million) and retained 97% of its Adult 18-49 lead (3.6/9 vs. 3.7/8).

* Like its lead-in, "Supernanny" grew in Total Viewers (9.7 million to 10.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.6/8 to 3.7/9) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

* Compared to the Net's performance in the hour on the same night last year, "Supernanny" improved the time period by nearly 4 million viewers and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1/19/04=6.1 million & 2.4/6).

Tuesday
Although it faced the 2-hour season opener of Fox's "American Idol" during prime, ABC was up over the same night last year (1/19/04 - also the season premiere night for "Idol") by 1 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 6.8 million) and by 13% among Adults 18-49 (2.8/7 vs. 2.3/6).

"According to Jim" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Surging from its lead-in opposite the season premiere of Fox's "American Idol," "According to Jim" (9.1 million & 3.3/7) beat its comedy competition in the half-hour by 2.6 million and by 27% among Adults 18-49 (6.5 million & 2.6/6 - NBC's "Scrubs").

"Rodney" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Rodney" (7.5 milion & 2.8/6) defeated NBC's "Committed" (5.7 million & 2.1/5) by 1.8 million viewers and by 33% among Adults 18-49.

Wednesday
With continued strong turn-outs for each of its shows on the night, ABC delivered a solid second place to "American Idol"-boosted Fox on the night in Total Viewers (14.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.8/14). ABC topped third-place NBC by 4.4 million viewers and by 87% in Adults 18-49 (10.0 million & 3.1/8).

* Compared to the same night a year ago, also against a Wednesday season opener of "Idol," ABC's delivery grew by 5.4 million viewers and by 49% in Adults 18-49 (9.0 million & 3.9/10 on 1/21/04). In fact despite the increased competition this week, ABC retained all of its week-earlier Adult 18-34 audience and grew among women and kids.

"Lost" (8:00-9:03 p.m.)
Showing strong build throughout its telecast, opposite the Wednesday night season opener of Fox's "American Idol," ABC's "Lost" posted the drama's third-strongest delivery ever in Total Viewers (19.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (7.4/18). The strong appetite for "Lost" put a dent in "Idol's" performance. Compared to its Wednesday night opener last year (1/21/05), "American Idol" was down by -2.9 million viewers (26.7 million vs. 29.6 million) and by -12% in Adults 18-49 (11.2/27 vs. 12.7/32). "Idol" also dropped enormously from its Tuesday season premiere performance the prior evening (33.6 million viewers & 14.0/33 in Adults 18-49)

* Versus its season average, "Lost" was up by 3.2 million viewers (19.6 million vs. 16.5 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (7.4/18 vs. 6.1/16).

"Alias" (9:03-10:02 p.m.)
For the third consecutive week, ABC's "Alias" ranked No. 1 in its time period among Total Viewers (13.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.6/13), beating the "Idol"-fueled series debut of "Point Pleasant" in the hour (11.3 million & 5.3/12).

* Opposite the heightened competition in the time period, "Alias" was up over the prior week among Women 18-34 (5.6/13 vs. 5.4/14) and Women 18-49 (6.6/14 vs. 6.5/15).

"Wife Swap" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Wife Swap" finished a strong second in its time slot among Adults 18-49 (4.4/11) and won the 10 o'clock hour among Adults 18-34 (3.7/11). It was the ABC reality show's third straight telecast as the No. 1 program in its time period in Adults 18-34.

* "Wife Swap" attracted its largest audience (9.8 million) and top Adult 18-49 rating (4.4/11) in 6 weeks - since 12/8/04.

Friday
ABC placed second on Friday night in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7).

"8 Simple Rules" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)
ABC's "8 Simple Rules" drew 7.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating, 7 share among Adults 18-49, outperforming Fox's "Bernie Mac" (4.7 million & 2.0/6) for the second week in a row.

"Hope & Faith" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
"Hope & Faith" finished second in its half-hour in both viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8). The ABC show ranked No. 1 among Women 18-34 (2.9/9) and Kids 2-11 (1.6/6-tie).

"Less than Perfect" (9:30-10:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Less than Perfect" retained 100% of its lead-in among Adults 18-34 (2.0/7), Adults 18-49 (2.7/8) and Teens 12-17 (1.6/6).

Sunday
Up against the NFL AFC Championship Game on CBS (New England-Pittsburgh), ABC delivered a strong second place during Sunday's primetime in Total Viewers (17.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.8/15). Among Adults 18-49, ABC bested third-place Fox by 162% (2.6/5) and fourth-place NBC by 196% (2.3/5).

* Despite the intense competition, ABC topped its season averages on the night by nearly 3 million viewers and by 17% among Adults 18-49 (Sunday average=14.3 million & 5.8/14). In addition, the Net was up over the same night last year by 10.3 million viewers and by 183% among Adults 18-49 (1/25/04=6.8 million & 2.4/6).

* ABC's "Desperate Housewives" stood as the No. 1 entertainment progam of the night in viewers and young adults.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" took second place in its hour among adults 18-49 (2.7/6).

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was the top-rated entertainment program in its hour. Although it faced the championship NFL contest, "Home Edition" outpaced its season norms by 2.7 million viewers (18.3 million vs. 15.6 million) and by 16% in Adults 18-49 (7.4/15 vs. 6.4/16).

* From its first half-hour to its second half-hour, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" saw its audience surge by 4.4 million viewers (16.1 million to 20.5 million) and by 29% in Adults 18-49 (6.5/14 to 8.4/17).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:02 p.m.)
The No. 1 TV series of the night, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" drew its second-largest audience ever (25.9 million). The ABC drama also posted its second-highest-ever ratings across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (12.9/28), Women 18-49 (14.5/28) and Women 25-54 (16.0/29). ABC won the hour -- beating CBS' football coverage -- in all three women measures.

* Despite the increased competition this week, "Desperate Housewives" was up in Total Viewers (25.9 million vs. 24.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (11.2/22 vs. 11.1/22) over the prior week.

"Boston Legal" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
Maintaining its ratings momentum, ABC's "Boston Legal" drew the series' highest numbers ever in Total Viewers (15.3 million) an Adults 18-49 (5.8/14). In fact over the course of its last three airings, "Boston Legal" has produced the series' three most-watched telecasts.

WEEK NO. 18: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS

No.1 CBS 5.6 No.1 CBS 16,310,000

No.2 FOX 5.1 No.2 FOX 11,950,000

No.3 NBC 3.9 No.3 NBC 10,750,000

No.4 ABC 3.8 No.4 ABC 10,010,000

No.5 WB 1.3 No.5 WB 3,130,000

No.6 UPN 1.2 No.6 UPN 3,050,000

Source: Nielsen Media Research, week of 1/17/05, or as dated.