via ABC press release:

ABC Earns Second on Thursday in Adults 18-49 and Delivers the
No. 1 Position on the Evening in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

ABC’s “Ugly Betty” Delivers its Best Numbers in Viewers and Adults 18-49 Since its Premiere, While Ranking No. 1 at 8pm for the 5th Straight Week in Women 18-34

“Betty” Builds from the Prior Week Among Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Week in a Row

ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” Stands as Thursday’s No. 1 Program Among Adults 18-34 and Across All Key Women Demos for the Second Week Running

“Grey’s” Wins at 9pm in Adults 18-34, Beating NBC by 20% and CBS by 61%

ABC’s “Life on Mars” Posts Increases Over its Week-Ago Premiere and
Beats CBS’ “Eleventh Hour” Among Adults 18-34 and Key Women

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
Opposite Game 2 of Fox’s “2008 World Series,” ABC earned second on Thursday among Adults 18-49 (3.5/9).  The Network won the evening among Adults 18-34 (3.2/9) and Women 18-34 (4.9/13), taking the top position on the night with Women 18-34 in all 5 Thursdays this season.

“Ugly Betty” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Ugly Betty” delivered a best since premiere performance in both Total Viewers (8.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/8).  In fact, it was the 3rd straight week for “Ugly Betty” to post week-to-week increases in the key adult sales demo.  Additionally, the program registered season highs among Teens 12-17 (1.4/5) and Kids 2-11 (1.2/4).  The program towered over NBC’s comedies by a season best 3.0 million viewers and by 22% in Adults 18-49 (”My Name is Earl”/”Kath & Kim” = 5.7 million & 2.3/6 in AD18-49).  Besting its nearest competition in the hour by 19% in Women 18-34 (3.8/11 vs. 3.2/9 – CBS’ “Survivor: Gabon”), “Betty” ranked No. 1 at 8 p.m. for the 5th straight week among young women.

“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” took second in the 9 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (14.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.3/13).  The ABC medical drama led the hour by 20% in Adults 18-34 over second-place NBC (5.3/14 vs. 4.4/11).  “Grey’s” outperformed third-place “C.S.I.” by 61% in Adults 18-34 (5.3/14 vs. 3.3/9).

Please Note:  In one of the most competitive time periods on television, with Game 2 of the World Series in the competitive mix this week, it’s likely there was an even higher than normal amount of DVR recording occurring in the Thursday’s 9 o’clock hour this week.   ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” will be a definite beneficiary once all the DVR playback is counted in the Live + 7 Day numbers, as the ABC medical drama is TV’s most-recorded  and played-back show.  This season “Grey’s Anatomy” is the biggest actual gainer from the originally-reported numbers (Live + Same Day) to the finalized DVR playback numbers (Live + 7 Day), surging by +2.7 million viewers and gaining an additional +1.3 Adult 18-49 rating points (+18%).

* For the second straight week, “Grey’s” was the evening’s No. 1 television program with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

“Life on Mars” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC’s freshman drama, “Life on Mars,” beat CBS’ freshman drama, “Eleventh Hour,” among Adults 18-34 (2.0/6 vs. 1.9/6) and Women 18-34 (3.0/8 vs. 2.4/6).

* “Life on Mars” built on its week-ago series premiere in Adults 18-34 (2.0/6 vs. 1.9/6), Women 18-34 (3.0/8 vs. 2.6/7) and Women 18-49 (3.5/9 vs. 3.3/8).

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 28% currently, from 20% at the same point in 2007. 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: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 10/23/08.