LONDON — ABC drama “Ugly Betty” attracted 4.5 million viewers and a 19% audience share for Channel 4 in its Friday-night debut at 9:30 p.m., the third-highest launch audience to date for an acquired show on the network after the debuts of “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.”
“Betty,” which features British actress Ashley Jensen alongside star America Ferrera, more than doubled Channel 4’s average primetime share and was second in its timeslot.
Although not in the same half-hour format as the Friday night comedy staples of recent years — including “Sex and the City,” “Frasier” and “Friends” — the one-hour comedy-drama seems capable of drawing the same young adults coveted by the network, attracting 33% of the 16-34-year-old audience, a key demographic.
The figures do not include viewers who have PVR’d the hourlong entertainment drama.
