"Lost" holds its own
If I am reading this release from ABC correctly, "Lost" beat "Lie to Me" last night even though "Lie to Me" had the vastly superior lead-in of "American Idol" and "Lost" had ... well, "Lost," and a clip-show "Lost" at that.
With a Lost recap special at 8pm and the 5th season opener of Lost at 9pm, ABC earned a strong second place to an American Idol-boosted Fox among Adults 18-49, outdelivering third-place CBS by 55% and fourth-place NBC by 137%. Excluding its telecasts of the CMA Awards, ABC posted its highest-rated Wednesday in more than 1-1/2 years in Adults 18-49 - since 5/23/07.
Opposite Fox's American Idol, ABC’s Lost: Destiny Calls recap special took second place in the 8 o'clock hour, pulling in the Net's best viewer and young adult numbers in the time period in 2 months - since 11/12/08.
Opening its 5th season against stiff competition, including Fox's series debut of Lie to Me coming out of American Idol and CBS' original dramas (Criminal Minds/CSI: NY), Lost drew an average audience of 11.4 million viewers and delivered a 5.0 rating, 12 share in Adults 18-49 from 9:00-11:00 p.m. Surging from its lead-in, Lost finished out as Wednesday’s #1 scripted TV show in Adults 18-49, besting Fox’s Idol-driven debut of Lie to Me (based on Fox’s time-zone adjusted rating). In its second hour from 10-11pm, Lost moved up to a dominant #1, defeating second-place CBS' CSI: NY in the hour by 63% in the key young adult sales demo. In addition to Adults 18-49, Lost also stood Wednesday’s #1 scripted TV program across each of the key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). Lost generated ABC's biggest audience with scripted programming in the time period since September '07 and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since May '07 - since 9/26/07 and 5/23/07, respectively. Besting its 4th season finale last May, Lost posted its highest Adult 18-49 result since April (4/24/08). Lost improved upon where it finished out last season in original episodes during the 2008 May Sweep. Versus its Live + Same Day averages for originals in May '08, Lost was up in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. It should definitely be noted in any comparisons to its 4th season opener last January (Thursday, 1/31/08), Lost premiered against considerably less competition a year ago, facing repeat programming on CBS and an Idol-less Fox on the evening with Don't Forget the Lyrics.
Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average last season in originals Lost saw its overall audience grow by 1.9 million viewers and jump 19% in Adults 18-49 (+1.0 rating point) from its first-reported Live + Same Day and finalized Live + 7 Day numbers.
