• by Wayne Friedman , December 29, 2005

Nielsen Media Research's new DVR-added ratings showed up for the first time on Wednesday--sort of. The data comparing so-called "live plus same day" of DVR viewing to simply "live" ratings was still incomplete as of press time.

However, preliminary results indicate ABC won Monday night among adults 18-49 with a 4.5 rating and a 13 share-- largely on the basis of "Monday Night Football," which coincidentally is the last telecast in the network's 36-year long association with the show it launched. The show averaged a 5.0 rating and a 14 share among adults 18-49.

All this was against a schedule chock full of repeats, which put other networks far behind ABC. CBS came in second with a 3.5/10 for the evening; NBC posted a 2.4/7; Fox was next with a 1.8/5; UPN tallied a 1.1/3; the WB finished out the bottom with a 0.9/3.

Initially, program analysts don't expect to see significant differences between pure "live" ratings and "live plus same day ratings," because the relatively small base of DVR homes included in Nielsen's sample. Over time, that is expected to grow.