Struggling ABC May Have Found a Hit in 'Lost'
After strong ratings in its first two weeks, ABC's new castaway thriller "Lost" appears to have given the network something it has struggled for years to find -- a hit drama.
In its second episode, the show about plane-crash survivors marooned on a tropical island with a mysterious man-eating monster drew 17 million viewers on Wednesday, easily dominating its 8 o'clock hour and ranking as the most watched show all night after CBS's new powerhouse crime drama "CSI: NY."
"Lost" also clinched the night's third-highest rating among viewers aged 18 to 49, the target audience most networks use as a benchmark for prime-time success, Nielsen Media Research reported on Thursday.
Only "CSI: NY" at 10 p.m. and a 9 p.m. episode of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" on NBC scored better in the key young-adult demographic.
Among 18- to 49-year-olds, "Lost" even beat out NBC's aging "Law & Order," which fell to No. 3 in the 10 o'clock hour behind "CSI" and another emerging bright spot on the ABC lineup, the mobile matriarch "reality" show "Wife Swap."
Moreover, the second outing of "Lost" retained 91 percent of the 18.7 million viewers who tuned in to the show's premiere last week and 96 percent of its debut 18-49 audience -- an impressive feat for any brand new program lacking a potent "lead-in" or ties to an already established hit.
Last week's "Lost" premiere was the first ABC drama to crack the Nielsen top 10 in 18-49 ratings since "The Practice" in 2001.
TURNAROUND IN THE MAKING?
ABC has found moderate success with several new comedies in recent years, but the last prime-time drama the Walt Disney Co.-owned network has managed to get off the ground was the espionage thriller "Alias" in 2001.
Shareholder anger over ABC's lackluster performance was a focal point in the recent ouster of two top network executives and the installation of a new management team, who have made drama development one of the network's top priorities.
Rolling out "Lost" was seen as a particularly big gamble at 8 p.m., an hour that has traditionally proven difficult for new dramas. But the show appeared to have benefited from an all-out marketing blitz that included radio spots, special screenings and ABC's first billboard advertising campaign in five years.
Interest was particularly strong among teens and men aged 18-49, with "Lost" ranking No. 1 for Wednesday night for both those groups.
Meanwhile, the latest edition of romance reality show "The Bachelor" turned in a second week of mediocre ratings against NBC's "Apprentice," but ABC executives are hopeful "Bachelor" will pick up steam as it goes along.
On the bright side, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" debuted on Sunday with the night's biggest audience overall, 16.4 million viewers and the No. 1 rating in adults 18-49. ABC's "Monday Night Football" also has gotten off to a strong start this season.
Still to come on are two highly anticipated ABC shows that have drawn favorable reviews and are set for launch this coming Sunday -- "The Practice" spinoff "Boston Legal" from David E. Kelly, and the darkly comic "Desperate Housewives."
