• by Wayne Friedman , October 15, 2008

CBS and Fox may be claiming victories so far for this new TV season, but in one key advertiser metric--C3, commercial ratings plus three days of DVR playback--ABC has taken an initial victory.

Focusing on key 18-49 viewers, where the most TV advertising money is spent, ABC scored a Nielsen Media Research 3.5 rating--the best of any network for the first week of the season, Sept. 22-28. NBC was second with a 3.1 rating, CBS was at a 2.8, and Fox was at a 2.7.

That's good news for networks: Their C3 ratings were generally more than 90% of their respective weekly live program and same-day ratings. ABC was at a 3.8 live-plus-same-day DVR rating among 18-49 viewers (92%), NBC at 3.3 (94%), CBS at 3.1 (90%), and Fox at 3 (90%).

ABC also scored with upscale viewers making $100,000 plus, earning a 4.0 rating. NBC was next at a 3.8, CBS at a 2.7, and Fox at a 2.4 number.

ABC said it was No. 1 in virtually all other popular viewer categories targeted by advertisers: total viewers, adults 25-54 and across all key women demographics.

ABC said it had three of the top five shows, and five of the top 15 during premiere week in the C3 adult 18-49 numbers, including the highest-rated program: "Grey's Anatomy" won a 6.97 rating. "Desperate Housewives" was the third-best show at 6.35, and "Dancing with the Stars" was fifth at 4.86.

NBC had three of the top 10 shows, including second-ranked "Sunday Night Football" at a 6.47 rating. "Heroes" was in eighth place at a 4.64 rating. "NFL Pre-Kick Sunday Night Football" was 10th at 4.46.

CBS had its best from "CSI: Miami"--in fourth place at a 4.99 rating. "Two and a Half Men" came in sixth at a 4.72.

Fox had two in the top 10: "House" in seventh place at a 4.72 and "The OT" in ninth place at a 4.59.