Tokyo Broadcasting System suing ABC for “Wipeout” gameshow

Japantoday.com reported, “Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc said Tuesday it has sued its U.S. peer ABC, claiming that this summer’s ABC obstacle course program “Wipeout” is a copycat of TBS TV programs, including “Takeshi’s Castle.” In a suit filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the major Japanese TV broadcaster is seeking an injunction ordering ABC not to air the “Wipeout” series anymore and demanding that ABC pay damages over the alleged infringement of TBS copyrights to “Takeshi’s Castle” and other programs.”

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Tags: ABC, American Broadcast Company, Japanese Entertainment News, TBS, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Wipeout

ABC WINS THE OPENING THURSDAY OF THE SEASON IN VIEWERS AND KEY ADULTS

ABC Wins the Opening Thursday of the Season in Viewers and Key Adults, The Net’s First Total Viewer Victory on a Season-Opening Thursday in 8 Years

ABC is Up from the Year-Ago Night in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Drawing its Biggest Audience Since January and Top Adult 18-49 Number Since November, “Ugly Betty” Opens its Third Season a Strong No. 1 in Key Demos

In its Fifth-Season Premiere, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” Generates its Top Numbers In Nearly 11 Months, Standing as TV’s Highest-Rated Scripted Telecast Since February

“Grey’s” Marks its 41st Original Airing as Thursday’s No. 1 TV Show in Adults 18-49 Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC dominated the opening Thursday of the season among Total Viewers (15.5 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics:  AD18-34 (6.3/18), AD18-49 (6.0/15) and A25-54 (6.2/15). The Net bested second-place CBS on the evening by 3.8 million viewers and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 11.7 million and 3.8/10).  ABC’s Thursday was the highest-rated night for any net so far this season in the key young adult sales demo.

* ABC’s numbers were up over the same night a year ago in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (14.5 million and 5.8/15 on 9/27/07).

* It was the first time that ABC has won the opening Thursday of a season in Total Viewers in 8 years (since 10/5/00) and just the second time since at least 1991 – going back to the start of Nielsen’s electronic database.

“Ugly Betty” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
From 8:00-9:00 p.m. ABC’s “Ugly Betty” opened its third season a definitive No. 1 in its time period among Adults 18-34 (3.4/11), beating CBS’ second-place “Survivor: Gabon” premiere by 26% (2.7/9) and third-place NBC’s opener of “My Name is Earl” by 31% (2.6/8).  Asserting itself in the hour among its core audience of Women 18-34, “Betty” defeated second-place CBS’ “Survivor” franchise by a best-ever 69% (5.4/16 vs. 3.2/10).  The show earned a solid second in the hour to CBS’ “Survivor” in Total Viewers (9.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/9), leading third-place NBC’s season opener of “My Name is Earl” by wide margins (“Earl” = 6.4 million and 2.7/8).

* “Ugly Betty” generated its biggest audience since early January and its top Adult 18-49 number since last November – since 1/10/08 and 11/15/07, respectively.  It was the series’ highest-rated telecast with Women 18-34 in exactly 1 year – since 9/27/07.

“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-11:00 p.m.)
Thursday’s No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (18.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (7.3/18) on its fifth-season premiere, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” opened as the highest-rated premiere so far this season in the key young adult sales demo, outdelivering the second-highest-rated season opener by a margin of 30% (Fox’s “House” on 9/16/08 = 5.6/16). The ABC medical drama marked its 41st straight original telecast as Thursday’s No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 – No. 1 on every single original airing since premiering on the evening in 2006.  In its 9:00-11:00 p.m., “Grey’s” beat its nearest time-period competition by 7.2 million viewers (18.3 million vs. 11.1 million – CBS) and by 78% in Adults 18-49 (7.3/18 vs. 4.1/10 – NBC).

* Grey’s represents TV’s most-watched scripted series telecast since early-April (4/10/08 – CBS’ “C.S.I.”) and highest-rated among Adults 18-49 since the beginning of February (2/5/08 – Fox’s “House” coming out of “American Idol”).

* In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, “Grey’s Anatomy” turned in its strongest performance in nearly 11 months – since 11/15/07.

Please note:  Based on last season (’07-08), “Grey’s Anatomy” is the most recorded and played back program on all of TV, as the show gained +2.1 million viewers and grew by +1.1 rating points in Adults 18-49 (+13%) from its first reported Live + Same Day number to its Live + 7 Day number.  With current DVR penetration nearing 28% this season, up from about 19% at the same point a year ago, “Grey’s” will see even greater increases in viewership this season from the initially reported next-day overnight ratings to the final numbers including all DVR playback.

Tags: ABC, American Broadcast Company, American Entertainment News, Grey's Anatomy

ABC is the No. 1 Net on the Opening Night of the 08-09 TV Season, Growing Year to Year and Outdrawing Second-Place CBS by Over 4 Million Viewers

ABC Marks its Most-Watched Season Premiere Monday in 9 Years, Representing the Top Season Opening Monday for Any Net Since 2002

Broadcast TV Grows its Overall Audience by 1 Million Viewers Year to Year

Monday’s No. 1 TV Show, ABC’s Seventh-Season Premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” Dominates its 2-Hour Time Period Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

“DWTS” Attracts ABC’s Largest Audience in the Time Slot in 1-1/2 Years And Generates its Highest Number Among Adults 18-49 in Close to a Year

In its Season Opener, “Boston Legal” Marks its Best Numbers Since April Monday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With the season premieres of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Boston Legal” on the night, ABC stood as the most-watched TV network on the opening Monday of the 2008-09 TV Season, outdrawing its nearest competition by over 4 million viewers (17.2 million vs. 13.1 million – CBS).  ABC also ranked No. 1 on Monday night across each of the key women demographics:   W18-34 (4.2/11), W18-49 (6.0/14) and W25-54 (7.5/16).

* Growing from opening Monday of last season by 2.0 million viewers (17.2 million vs. 15.2 million on 9/24/07), ABC posted its biggest season premiere audience on the night in 9 years and the most-watched for any network since 2002 – since 9/20/99 and 9/23/02 (CBS), respectively.  In fact it was a good start to the season for broadcast television overall, as the 5 networks combined (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW) attracted 1.0 million more viewers this year than last (48.0 million vs. 47.0 million), despite a sharp increase in DVR penetration (from 19% a year ago up to more than 27% currently).

“Dancing with the Stars” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
The most-watched TV show on Monday night, ABC’s seventh-season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” dominated in its 2-hour time period, beating second-place CBS by 9.8 million viewers (21.1 million vs. 11.3 million) and by 26% in Adults 18-49 (5.3/13 vs. 4.2/10).  “DWTS” was also Monday’s No. 1 show in the key Adults 18-49 (tied w/CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” from 9:00-9:30 p.m.), besting high-profile competition including the season opener of CBS’ “C.S.I.: Miami” (5.1/12) and NBC’s 2-hour return of “Heroes” (4.9/12).

* “Dancing with the Stars” generated ABC’s largest audience in the time period in 1-1/2 years and its highest Adult 18-49 rating since last November – since 3/19/07 and 11/19/07, respectively.

“Boston Legal” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
In its season premiere, ABC’s “Boston Legal” turned in its best viewer (9.4 million) and young adult number (2.5/6) since April – since 4/22/08

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 27% currently, from 19% 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.

Tags: ABC, American Broadcast Company, American Entertainment News, Dancing with the Stars