• by Wayne Friedman , September 30, 2009

Upscale TV viewers are still prime customers for TV marketers -- and for the first week of the season, ABC is claiming victory.

ABC says it has grabbed the top seven of 15 shows with "Grey's Anatomy," the highest-rated non-sports prime program at an 8.43 rating among viewers 18-49 who make at least $100,000.

Also in the group is "Desperate Housewives" (third place, 5.39 rating). ABC also did well with new shows: "Cougar Town" (6th place, 5.05), "FlashForward" (8th place, 4.92), and "Modern Family" (10th place, 4.70). It also had two different episodes of "Dancing with the Stars," placing 13th and 15th.

CBS came next with five in the top 15. Its best was "The Big Bang Theory" (4th place, 5.36 rating); "Two and a Half Men" (5th place, 5.23); "How I Met Your Mother" (7th place, 5.04); "Amazing Race 15" (9th place, 4.87); and "60 Minutes" (14th place and a 4.46 rating).

CBS had another three in the top 20 -- making eight in the top 20, the most of any network. This included "Survivor: Samoa" (17th place, 4.32 rating); "Criminal Minds" (18th place, 4.20); and "CSI: NY" (20th place, 4.14).

Fox's best came from "House," which landed in second place with a 6.28 rating. The network had four overall in the top 20. "Family Guy" was in 12th place with a 4.66 number; "The Cleveland Show" was in 16th place with a 4.37 rating; and "Glee" was in 19th place with a 4.15 number.

NBC, which in the recent past had the most upscale shows of any broadcast network, had just one in the top 20 in the first week with "The Office." "The Office" came in at third place at a 6.23 rating. "The Jay Leno Show" came in at 39th place with a 2.63 rating.

When including sports programming, NBC -- adding in "Sunday Night Football" -- helps its overall numbers among 18-49 viewers who make more than $100,000. NBC's average without sports is a 2.29 average rating; with sports it earns a 3.10 rating.

Overall, looking at all prime-time programming, ABC is at a 3.74 average rating among upscale 18-49 viewers; CBS, a 3.21; NBC, a 3.10; and Fox, a 2.79 number.