• New York Post, Monday, January 15, 2007 9:45 AM

ABC's "Ugly Betty," a drama that has been drawing 5 million viewers ages 18 to 49, is the best prime-time ad buy on the tube this season, according to a study by the New York Post--costing advertisers just $1.85 for every 100 viewers in the key demographic.

In second place is NBC's "Heroes," a comic book-style drama about a group of superheroes trying to save the world. Its cost for the same 100 viewers is $1.93. "Anybody who put their dollars on "Heroes" got quite a bargain," says trade magazine Mediaweek.

To calculate the best bargain, the tabloid used the price networks were charging when the program lineups were announced last spring. It then divided that amount by the audience the show drew and multiplied the result by 100.

When ABC previewed its schedule last spring, the network was asking for $93,000 for a 30-second commercial on "Betty." The show follows the life of an awkward-looking girl working for a fashion magazine, and is based on a successful international soap opera format. "The art of the schedule is to correctly pick out the shows that nobody else thinks are going to be hits," says Mediaweek.

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