During the week, ABC aired 6 of TV’s Top 20 entertainment programs in Adults 18-49: Scandal – #7, Grey’s Anatomy – #9, Once Upon a Time – #16, while The Middle, Modern Family and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown tied at #19. In addition, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars outdrew NBC’s The Voice as the week’s most-watched unscripted series for the first time this season and finished among the Top 10 TV programs overall for the 6th straight week this season. Please Note: S.H.I.E.L.D. and Modern Family were in repeats this week. Building week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%), ABC delivered its biggest audience since season-premiere week and equaled a 4-week high with young adults – since w/o 9/23/13 and w/o 10/30/13, respectively.
Monday: Opposite the World Series Game 5 on Fox, ABC’s Monday delivery grew 11% week to week in Adults 18-49. ABC beat NBC on the night for the first time this season in Total Viewers to rank as Monday’s most-watched non-sports net. In fact, Dancing delivered a larger audience than The Voice for the first time this season and Castle outdrew Blacklist as the night’s most-watched scripted show for 3rd consecutive week. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars finished as Monday’s most-watched entertainment show, moving ahead of The Voice. Also in its time period, Dancing outdrew CBS’ 2-hour comedy block by 5.8 million viewers. Nicole “Snookie” Polizzi was eliminated this week. Dancing was up 1-tenth from its week-ago Adult 18-49 rating to match its strongest performance in 5 weeks – since 9/23/13. On average, Dancing is up year to year in both Total Viewers (+4%) and Adults 18-49 (+4%). Holding 100% retention on its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 10pm, ABC’s Castle was up 11% Adults 18-49 to stand as the biggest week-to-week broadcast series gainer. For the 3rd week in a row, ABC’s Castle outdrew NBC’s Blacklist as the top series in the 10 o’clock hour and as Monday’s most-watched scripted program overall.
Tuesday: Building on its repeat S.H.I.E.L.D. lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s The Goldbergs was up week to week in Total Viewers (+4% to a 3-week high) and held 100% of its Adult 18-49 delivery (matching a 3-week high). The freshman ABC comedy beat Fox’s The X Factor in the half-hour by 1.0 million viewers and by 13% in Adults 18-49. The Goldbergs was up by double-digit margins over ABC’s year-ago original Happy Endings (on 10/30/12) in the slot, which had the advantage of airing out of an original Dancing, gaining 26% in Total Viewers and 21% in Adults 18-49.In the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s Trophy Wife was up week to week in Total Viewers (+5% to a 3-week high) and Adults 18-49 (+17% to match its 2nd highest rating). Like its lead-in, Trophy Wife grew from ABC’s year-ago original Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt 23 in the half-hour, improving by 30% in Total Viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49.
Wednesday: At 8pm opposite the start of the final game of the World Series, ABC’s The Middle retained 100% of its week-ago Adult 18-49 rating and was up 10% week to week with Men 18-34. In its half-hour, The Middle ran neck-and-neck with Survivor in Adults 18-49 and beat the CBS unscripted series with Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34. At 8:30pm, ABC’s Back in the Game also held even week to week and continued to outperform NBC’s Revolution in the half-hour by strong margins, defeating the NBC sophomore drama by 1.3 million viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49. Like its lead-in, Back in the Game was up 25% from the prior week in Men 18-34. Building on its lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s repeat Modern Family was the #2 scripted show of the night in Adults 18-49. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Modern Family turned in its best repeat performance since the beginning of December – since 12/2/12. In the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s Super Fun Night held 77% of its Modern Family Adult 18-49 lead-in to rank as the #2 entertainment show in its time period. At 10pm against the conclusion of the deciding World Series game, ABC’s Nashville paced within 2-tenths of its week-earlier Adult 18-49 rating and held 96% of its Total Viewer count. Jumping 72% on average in the L+7 Adult 18-49 ratings, Nashville has emerged as ABC’s biggest percentage gainer this season and places in the Top 5 broadcast series overall. The ABC sophomore drama gets a much bigger playback lift than time-slot competitor CSI (72% vs. 50%), outdelivering the CBS drama in the finals at a 3.1 rating (vs. a 3.0 rating).
Thursday: With It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, ABC won the opening night of the November Sweep for the first time in 6 years (since 2007) in Adults 18-49, leading CBS by 30%. In fact, the Network finished #1 in 5 of 6 half-hours on the evening. ABC’s Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy stood as the Top 2 TV shows of the night in Adults 18-49, respectively. It was Scandal’s first time ever to hold the #1 show position on Thursday. Please Note: On Halloween, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage levels on Thursday were down 8% week to week. From 8-9pm, ABC’s encore telecast of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown beat NBC’s SNL Halloween special by 29% in Adults 18-49 and nearly tied CBS’ comedies for the lead in the hour. In viewers and young adults, the PEANUTS Halloween special delivered ABC’s best numbers in the time period in 1 year – since 11/1/12. In addition, it posted the Net’s highest Kids 2-11 rating in the time slot since December 2011 – since 12/15/11. ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy dominated the 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, leading CBS’ comedies by 30% (Crazy Ones/The Big Bang Theory) and for the 4th week in a row more than doubled NBC’s comedies (+136% over Sean Saves the World/The Michael J Fox Show. Gaining week to week (+2%), Grey’s Anatomy drew its biggest audience in 4 weeks – since 10/3/13. Building on its Grey’s lead-in for the 5th week running in Adults 18-49 (+12%) at 10pm, ABC’s Scandal nearly beat the combined delivery of its CBS and NBC drama competition in the hour, outdelivering Elementary by 61% and Parenthood by 142%. Despite the decline in TV usage levels, Scandal was up 7% week to week in Total Viewers and retained 100% of its Adult 18-49 audience. The ABC drama was once again Thursday’s #1 most social TV series with 193,783 tweets.
Friday: ABC won the opening Friday of the November sweep in Adults 18-49 for the first time in 15 years – since 1998. ABC dominated the night by double-digit percentages, beating CBS by 23%, NBC by 33% and Fox by 77%. The Network delivered its most-watched Friday in 1 year (since 11/2/12) and grew for the 3rd straight week in Adults 18-49 to match its best performance on the night this season. ABC’s Shark Tank was Friday’s #1 TV show for the 7th straight week in Adults 18-49, while 20/20 finished as the #2 TV show of the night (tie). Both shows dominated their respective hours from 9-11pm in Adults 18-49. At 8pm, Last Man Standing ranked #1 in Adults 18-49 and was up 8% from its last original telecast two weeks ago to equal its 2nd-highest rating this season. At 8:30pm, The Neighbors grew 5% in Total Viewers from its last original to deliver its most-watched telecast since its season premiere 6 weeks ago – since 9/20/12. The ABC comedy held even in Adults 18-49 with its most recent original. Building 100% on its lead-in at 9pm in Adults 18-49, ABC’s Shark Tank won its hour by strong double-digit margins over NBC’s Grimm (+33% – 1.5/5) and CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 (+54% – 1.3/4). Returning from last week’s series high, Shark Tank turned around and drew its 2nd-biggest audience ever for a regular telecast. Shark Tank matched a season high in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd straight week. On average, Shark Tank is up 15% this season in Adults 18-49 from the same point a year ago. ABC’s 20/20 won the 10’clock hour among key Adults, beating its closest competitors by 25% in Adults 18-49 (NBC’s Dracula) and by 16% in Adults 25-54 (CBS’ Blue Bloods). Posting new season highs for the 2nd week in a row with Total Viewers and Adults 25-54, ABC’s 20/20 drew its biggest audience in more than 18 months and hit its best Adult rating in almost 1 year – since 2/17/12 and 11/30/12, respectively.
Saturday: With coverage of the Miami/Florida State game, ABC dominated Saturday night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. ABC beat the other major networks (CBS, NBC, and Fox) combined by 45% in Adults 18-49 and outdrew its closest competitor on the night by 3.7 million Total Viewers (CBS). ABC’s college football coverage towered over Fox’s college football coverage by 270% in Total Viewers and by 367% in Adults 18-49. ABC matched its highest-rated Saturday among young adults and drew its biggest audience on the night in nearly 1 year – since 11/24/12. ABC’s Saturday Night Football easily stood as the night’s #1 program in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Growing over the prior week’s game by 105% in Total Viewers and by 155% in Adults 18-49, Saturday Night Football scored its most-watched game this season and posted a best-since-premiere number in Adults 18-49. In addition, the ABC football game was up over the year-ago match-up by 190% in Total Viewers and by 300% in Adults 18-49.
Sunday: Opposite strong NFL-driven competition from NBC’s Sunday Night Football and CBS’ 59-minute NFL-overrun boosted lineup, ABC’s Sunday was up for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-49 (+7%) to earn a 4-week high – since 10/6/13. In addition, the Net gained Total Viewers (+9%) for the 4th straight week for a best-since-premiere number – since 9/29/13. In the 7 o’clock hour, America’s Funniest Home Videos grew 15% week to week in Total Viewers and held even Adults 18-49. AFHV hit a season high in viewers and tied a season best with young adults. 8pm, ABC’s Once Upon a Time was up for the 2nd week in viewers (+6%) and young adults (+5%) to deliver 3-week highs – since 10/13/13. During the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s Revenge grew by double-digits week to week in Total Viewers (+11%) and Adults 18-49 (+21%) to its best numbers in 1 month – since 10/6/13. During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Betrayal earned its top young adult number in 4 weeks (since 10/6/13), up in both Total Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+11%).
