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 Season in Viewers and Holding Steady in Adults 18-49
ABC Marks its Best Thursday in 5 Years and Most-Watched 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 2014-15 (09/22/14-12/14/14)
Based on Nielsen's non-sports averages (to account for the inflated averages from sports coverage), ABC is a solid No. 1 this season in Adults 18-49: ABC (2.5/8), CBS (2.3/7), NBC (2.2/7) and Fox (1.8/6).
· Wins November in Non-Sports Adults 18-49 (Live + 7 Day): Based on all programming, ABC was a strong No. 2 for the sweep in Adults 18-49 to an NFL-driven NBC (2.7/8 vs. 2.8/9), 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 17% (2.8/9 vs. 2.4/7). ABC was the only major net up year to year in Total Viewers (+4% - 9.9 million vs. 9.5 million) or Adults 18-49 (+4% - 2.7/8 vs. 2.6/8), marking its most-watched sweep overall in 3 years (any sweep) - since November 2011.
· ABC is Up the Most in Viewers and Holding Steady in Adults 18-49: Season to date based on all programming, ABC is up 5% in Total Viewers (8.9 million vs. 8.5 million) and holding steady in Adults 18-49 (2.4/8), making it the biggest gainer in viewers and the only net to hold in the key sales demo. CBS (-7%), NBC (-9%) and Fox (-16%) are each down this season with young adults. The Net is up year to year on 5 nights in Adults 18-49: Wednesday (+3%), Thursday (+9%), Friday (+6%), Saturday (+6%) and Sunday (+6%).
· Season's Highest-Rated TV Series: The Net delivers 6 of the Top 15 entertainment series on broadcast TV this season 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 No. 1 drama ( "Scandal"): "Modern Family" (5.2 rating) - No. 2, "Scandal" (4.6 rating) - No. 3, "HTGAWM" (4.4 rating) - No. 6, "Grey's Anatomy" (4.0 rating) - No. 8, while "Once Upon a Time" (3.5 rating) and "black-ish" (3.5 rating) tie at No. 14. In addition, "Scandal" is the season's No. 1 show with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).
· More Returning Shows Up than Any Other Net: In Adults 18-49, ABC's "The Goldbergs" (+16%), "Modern Family" (+4%), "Scandal" (+12%), "Last Man Standing" (+6%), "20/20" (+7%), "Saturday Night Football" (+12%) and "Once Upon a Time" (+19%) are each up over their performance at the same point last season. In fact, ABC has more returning shows up this season in Adults 18-49 than any other network: ABC has 7 shows up, CBS=2, NBC=5, Fox=5 and CW=1. In addition, ABC's "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+27%), "Forever" (+73%), "The Goldbergs" (+45%), "black-ish" (+35%), "Grey's" (+167%), "Scandal" (+12%), "How to Get Away with Murder" (+2%) and "Revenge" (+62%) are each improving their respective time periods with young adults.
· Strongest Thursday Performance in 5 Years: Despite facing CBS' Thursday Night Football on the first 5 weeks of the season, ABC is up on the night versus the same point last year in Total Viewers (+17%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%). On both Nielsen measures, ABC is delivering its strongest performance on the night in 5 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2009-10 season.
· Up on Friday in Viewers for the 3rd Straight Year to a 7-Year High: Building for the 3rd straight year on Friday in Total Viewers (+9%) and gaining Adults 18-49 (+6%), ABC is delivering its most-watched Friday overall in 7 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2007-08 season. The Net ranks 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 leads its 8:00-10:00 p.m. time period by 11% in Adults 18-49 over its nearest competition (CBS). The comedy block is growing year to year in viewers (+13%) and young adults (+16%). "Modern Family" is the No. 1 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49.
· ABC Leads Season with Upscale Young Adults: Among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income in the non-sports numbers, ABC (3.15 rating) ranks No. 1 this season, leading NBC by 15% (2.73 rating), CBS by 24% (2.55 rating) and Fox by 74% (1.81 rating). ABC airs 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" (9.09 rating) - No. 1, "Scandal" (6.16) - No. 4, "HTGAWM" (5.36 - No. 1 new drama) - No. 5, "Grey's Anatomy" (4.98) - No. 8, "black-ish" (4.74 - No. 1 new comedy) - No. 9, "Once Upon a Time" (4.14) - No. 11 and "The Goldbergs" (3.84) - No. 15.
· ABC Series Among Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: On average during primetime, ABC's numbers for original programming jump from the first-reported Live + Same Day averages to the finalized Live + 7 Day ratings by 28% in Total Viewers (7.6 million to 9.7 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 to 2.7/8), 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 remain among the most popularly recorded and played back TV shows again this season, as it delivers 3 of the Top 10 biggest broadcast gainers in Total Viewers, including the season's No. 1 biggest freshman gainer ("HTGAWM"). A total of 12 ABC series add 2.5 million viewers or more from their initially reported totals via time-shifted viewing: "HTGAWM" (+5.5 million), "Modern Family" (+4.9 million), "Castle" (+4.3 million), "Scandal" (+3.8 million), "Grey's" (+3.4 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" (+2.8 million), "Nashville" (+2.6 million) and "Resurrection" (+2.5 million). Among Adults 18-49, 10 of ABC's series register substantial ratings increases of at least 1.0 rating points: "HTGAWM" (+2.2 rating), "Modern Family" (+2.2 rating), "Scandal" (+1.6 rating), "Grey's" (+1.5 rating), "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+1.3 rating), "Once Upon a Time" (+1.3 rating), "black-ish" (+1.1 rating), "Castle" (+1.1 rating), "Nashville" (+1.0 rating) and "Revenge" (+1.0 rating).
Source: The Nielsen Company, (National, Most Current Program Ratings), 09/22/14-12/14/14, 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 09/22/14-11/3014.
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