The Net Ranks a Strong No. 1 in the Non-Sports Adult 18-49 Averages, with 6
Of the Top 15 Entertainment Series, the Top 2 Dramas and No. 1 New Comedy
ABC is Up the Most this Fall in Viewers and Holding Steady in Adults 18-49
ABC Marks its Strongest Fall Thursday in 5 Years and Best Friday in 7 Years
The Network is No. 1 in Upscale Adults 18-49 with 7 of the Top 15 TV Series
ABC's Primetime Numbers Surge via TV Playback, Gaining
28% in Viewers and 42% in Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+7
ABC Primetime Fall 2014 (09/22/14-11/30/14)
Based on Nielsen's non-sports averages (to account for the inflated averages from sports coverage), ABC ran a strong No. 1 during fall 2014 in Adults 18-49: ABC (2.6/8), CBS (2.3/7), NBC (2.3/7) and Fox (1.8/6).
· Most-Watched Sweep in 3 Years: Based on all programming, ABC was a solid No. 2 for the November Sweep in Adults 18-49 to an NFL-driven NBC (2.0/6 vs. 2.3/7), moving up a notch year to year. The Net ranked a dominant No. 1 in Nielsen's non-sports Adult 18-49 averages for the month, leading runner-up CBS by 24% (2.1/6 vs. 1.7/5). ABC was up year to year in Total Viewers (+3% - 8.1 million vs. 7.9 million) and the only net to hold steady in Adults 18-49, marking its most-watched sweep overall in 3 years (any sweep) - since November 2011.
· Up the Most this Fall in Viewers and Holding Steady in Adults 18-49: Based on all programming, ABC was up 3% this fall in Total Viewers (9.1 million vs. 8.8 million) and held steady in Adults 18-49 (2.5/8), making it the biggest gainer in viewers and the only network to hold in the key sales demo. CBS (-4%), NBC (-6%) and Fox (-13%) were each down this fall with young adults. The Net was up year to year on 5 nights in Adults 18-49: Wednesday (+3%), Thursday (+21%), Friday (+6%), Saturday (+6%) and Sunday (+4%).
· No. 1 on 4 of 7 Nights of the Week in Adults 18-49: ABC was the No. 1 network on 4 nights of the week during the fall in young adults (Wednesday, Thursday (tie), Friday and Saturday).
· Fall's Highest-Rated TV Series: The Net delivered 6 of the Top 15 entertainment series on broadcast TV this fall in Adults 18-49 (more than any net), including the No. 1 freshman show ("How to Get Away with Murder"), the No. 1 new comedy ("black-ish") and the Top 2 dramas ("HTGAWM" and "Scandal"): "Modern Family" (5.4 rating) - No. 2, "HTGAWM" (5.0 rating) - No. 3, "Scandal" (4.6 rating) - No. 4, "Grey's Anatomy" (3.9 rating) - No. 10, "Once Upon a Time" (3.8 rating) - No. 11 and "black-ish" (3.7 rating) - No. 13. In addition, "Scandal" and "HTGAWM" were the fall's Top 2 shows with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
· More Returning Shows Up this Fall than Any Other Net: In Adults 18-49, ABC's "The Goldbergs" (+15%), "Modern Family" (+6%), "Scandal" (+5%), "Last Man Standing" (+6%), "20/20" (+7%), "Saturday Night Football" (+6%) and "Once Upon a Time" (+15%) were each up over their performance at the same point last season. In fact, ABC had more returning shows up this fall in Adults 18-49 than any other network: ABC had 7 shows up, CBS=1, NBC=2, Fox=3 and CW=1. In addition, ABC's "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+26%), "Forever" (+82%), "The Goldbergs" (+43%), "black-ish" (+37%), "Grey's" (+144%), "How to Get Away with Murder" (+14%), "Cristela" (+8%) and "Revenge" (+40%) improved their respective time periods with young adults.
· Strongest Fall Thursday in 5 Years: Despite facing CBS' Thursday Night Football on the first 5 weeks of the season, ABC tied CBS for No. 1 with young adults and was up by double digits on the night over last fall in Total Viewers (+27%) and Adults 18-49 (+21%). On both Nielsen measures, ABC delivered its strongest fall results on the night in 5 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2009-10 season.
· Up on Friday in Viewers for the 4th Straight Year to a 7-Year High: Building for the 4th straight year on Friday in Total Viewers (+10%) and increasing its Adult 18-49 delivery (+6%), ABC earned its top fall numbers on the night in 7 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2007-08 season. The Net ranked No. 1 on the night with "Shark Tank" as Friday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49.
· ABC's 2-Hour Comedy Block is Up and Ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49: On average, ABC's 2-hour Wednesday comedy block led its 8:00-10:00 p.m. time period by 12% in Adults 18-49 over its nearest competition (CBS). The comedy block grew fall to fall in viewers (+15%) and young adults (+19%). "Modern Family" and "black-ish" (tied w/"Criminal Minds") were the Top 2 TV shows of the night in Adults 18-49.
· ABC Leads Fall with Upscale Young Adults: Among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income in the non-sports numbers, ABC (3.33 rating) ranked No. 1 this fall, leading NBC by 19% (2.80 rating), CBS by 29% (2.59 rating) and Fox by 80% (1.85 rating). ABC aired 7 of the Top 15 highest-rated broadcast entertainment series (the most for any net) among high-income young adults, placing 5 of the Top 10, including the No. 1 series overall with "Modern Family" and the No. 1 new show with "How to Get Away with Murder:" "Modern Family" (9.43 rating) - No. 1, "HTGAWM" (6.39 - No. 1 drama) - No. 3, "Scandal" (6.11) - No. 5, "black-ish" (4.93 - No. 1 new comedy) - No. 8, "Grey's Anatomy" (4.92) - No. 9, "Once Upon a Time" (4.30) - No. 12 and "The Goldbergs" (3.97) - No. 15.
· ABC Series Among Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: On average during primetime this fall, ABC's numbers for original programming jumped from the first-reported Live + Same Day averages to the finalized Live + 7 Day ratings by 28% in Total Viewers (7.5 million to 9.6 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 to 2.7/9), making it the biggest percentage gainer among the major nets on both counts. With a rise in DVR penetration year to year, ABC's series remained among the most popularly recorded and played back TV shows again this fall, as it delivered 3 of the Top 10 biggest broadcast gainers in Total Viewers, including the fall's No. 1 biggest freshman gainer ("HTGAWM"). A total of 12 ABC series added 2.5 million viewers or more from their initially reported totals via time-shifted viewing: "HTGAWM" (+5.6 million), "Modern Family" (+4.9 million), "Castle" (+4.4 million), "Scandal" (+3.8 million), "Grey's" (+3.5 million), "Forever" (+3.4 million), "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (+3.3 million), "Once Upon a Time" (+2.9 million), "black-ish" (+2.8 million), "Revenge" (+2.7 million), "Nashville" (+2.6 million) and "Resurrection" (+2.5 million). Among Adults 18-49, 9 of ABC's series registered substantial ratings increases of at least 1.0 rating points: "HTGAWM" (+2.3 rating), "Modern Family" (+2.2 rating), "Scandal" (+1.6 rating), "Grey's" (+1.6 rating), "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+1.3 rating), "Once Upon a Time" (+1.2 rating), "black-ish" (+1.2 rating), "Castle" (+1.1 rating) and "Nashville" (+1.0 rating).
Source: The Nielsen Company, (National, Most Current Program Ratings), 09/22/14-11/30/14, or as dated. Upscale data based on regular non-sports programming. DVR/VOD Playback based on regular, original telecasts only for programs with 2+ telecasts in Live + 7 Day ratings for 09/22/14-11/16/14.
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