via press release:

Up Year-to-Year, ABC Ranks No. 2 on Tuesday in Viewers and Young Adults

Boosting the 8pm Hour Year-to-Year by 76% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “V” Defeats Time-Slot Veterans on NBC and Fox and is the Night’s No. 1 TV Show in Key Men

Hitting Season-Highs and Standing as Tuesday’s Most-Watched Unscripted Series, ABC’s “DWTS the Results” Beats Fox’s “Dance” by a Best-Yet 48% in Adults 18-49

“In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” Draws ABC’s Biggest Audience in the Tuesday 10pm Hour this Season and Gives ABC its Best-Ever Advantage Over NBC’s “Leno”

Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC earned second place on Tuesday to CBS in both Total Viewers (11.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.2/8).

• ABC’s Tuesday results were up over the same night last November Sweep by 4% in viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (11.4 million and 2.5/6 on 11/11/08).

“V” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC freshman “V” earned second place in the 8 o’clock hour to CBS’ top-performer “NCIS” in Total Viewers (10.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/10), beating NBC and Fox time-slot regulars by strong margins. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC’s newcomer “V” outdelivered NBC’s “Biggest Loser” by 1.6 million viewers and by 12% in Adults 18-49 (9.0 million and 3.3/9) and “Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance” by 4.5 million viewers and by 61% in Adults 18-49 (6.1 million and 2.3/6).

• The ABC drama won the hour in Men 18-34 (3.0/10) and Men 18-49 (4.1/12), ranking as Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show for the 2nd week in a row in both key Men demos.

• Versus the year-ago November Sweep night, “V” improved the hour year-to-year for ABC by an enormous 76% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/5 on 11/11/08).

“Dancing with the Stars the Results” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Tuesday’s most-watched unscripted TV show, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars the Results” outdrew NBC’s “Biggest Loser” in direct competition during the 9 o’clock hour by 5.3 million viewers (15.5 million vs. 10.2 million). In addition, the ABC dance competition dominated Fox’s dance program in the hour, beating the second hour of “So You Think You Can Dance” by a best-ever 10.2 million viewers (15.5 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 48% in Adults 18-49 (3.4/9 vs. 2.3/6).

• Growing its young adult numbers for the 2nd straight week, “DWTS the Results” hit season-highs with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

“In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

An ABC News Special, “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts,” took a strong second in the 10 o’clock hour to CBS’ “Good Wife,” beating NBC’s “Jay Leno” by 3.9 million viewers (9.6 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 1.9/5) – representing ABC’s widest-ever-advantage over “Leno” in the hour in viewers and young adults.  The special finished No. 1 in its hour with Adults 18-34 (1.7/5-tie) and Women 18-34 (2.4/7).  “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts:  Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” took viewers into the private lives of country music’s biggest stars.  The special featured Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Martina McBride.

• “In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts” generated ABC’s biggest audience in the hour this season and the Net’s highest Adult 18-49 number in 7 weeks (since 9/22/09).

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 more than 33% currently, from 28% at the same point in 2008.  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), 11/10/09.