Overall: During the week 10/14/13, ABC grew 6% week to week in Adults 18-49. The Net aired 5 of the Top 15 non-sports TV programs in Adults 18-49, placing 3 of the Top 8, including both the #1 broadcast drama and the #1 10 o’clock series with Scandal: Modern Family – #4, Scandal – #6, Toy Story OF TERROR! – #8, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – #13 and Grey’s Anatomy – #15. In addition, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (#9), Castle (#14), Modern Family (#16) and Toy Story OF TERROR! (#19) each landed among the Top 20 most-watched programs overall. In addition, ABC’s debut of Toy Story OF TERROR! was the week’s #1 telecast with Kids 2-11.
Weekly Social Activity: ABC aired 4 of the Top 10 most social broadcast series for the week (the most for any network), including the #1 show with Scandal: Scandal – #1, DWTS – #6, Once Upon a Time – #7 and Grey’s – #10.
Monday: ABC ranked #2 on Monday in viewers, outdrawing Fox by 4.9 million viewers and CBS by 5.4 million viewers. Both Dancing (+5%) and Castle (+16%) were up week to week in Adults 18-49. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars once again ranked as the 2nd-most-watched entertainment show on Monday to NBC’s The Voice, and in its time period outdrew CBS’ 2-hour comedy block by 5.0 million viewers and Fox’s dramas by 5.5 million viewers. Christina Milian was the fourth celebrity dancer to be eliminated from the competition this season. Dancing was up 5% week to week among Adults 18-49 to a 3-week high. On average, ABC’s DWTS is up over the same point last season by 4% in Total Viewers and by 9% in Adults 18-49. Building on its lead-in at 10pm in Adults 18-49 (+5%), ABC’s Castle surged 16% week to week to match a season high. In addition, the ABC drama spiked 42% in Adults 18-34 over the prior week to earn a 2-year high – since 10/17/11. Castle was up 10% over its year-ago telecast in Adults 18-49 and is also up 4% season to date (Most Current). Castle beat NBC’s Blacklist for the first time in Total Viewers (+2%) to rank as the #1 series in its time period and stand as Monday’s most-watched scripted telecast.
Tuesday: Holding nearly all of its Viewers (99%) and Adults 18-49 (97%) week to week, ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finished a strong #2 in the 8 o’clock hour, beating NBC’s season premiere of The Biggest Loser by 22% and Fox’s comedies by 87% in Adults 18-49. The ABC drama dominated its hour with Adults 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49), ranking as Tuesday’s #1 TV show for the 4th straight week in Men 18-34 and Men 18-49. The show was up week to week in Adults 18-34 (+16%), Men 18-34 (+25%) and Women 18-34 (+11%). On average, S.H.I.E.L.D. is improving ABC’s Adult 18-49 delivery in the time period year over year by 175% in Adults 18-49. The season’s #1 freshman series in Adults 18-49, ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D. is also the highest-rated new show this season with Upscale young adults. The drama also reports the youngest Median Age (45.1 years) for any ABC series and is considerably younger than both Fox’s Sleepy Hollow (47.3 years) and NBC’s Blacklist (53.8 years). At 9pm, ABC’s The Goldbergs was Tuesday’s most-watched comedy for the 4th consecutive week. At 9:30pm, ABC’s Trophy Wife pulled in 1.4 million more viewers than Fox’s The Mindy Project. It was the night’s 2nd-most-watched comedy, behind only The Goldbergs and outdrawing all 4 of Fox’s sitcoms for the 4th straight Tuesday. Week to week, Trophy Wife retained 93% of its Adult 18-49 delivery and 100% in both Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.
Wednesday: Up against Fox’s MLB playoff game (ALCS), ABC ranked #1 on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 for the 4th straight week, leading Fox’s baseball coverage by 4 and defeating NBC by 1 full rating point. ABC aired the Top 2 TV shows of the night among young adults with Modern Family and Toy Story OF TERROR! ABC is delivering its most competitive Wednesday start to a season in 6 years – since 2007-08. At 8pm, ABC’s premiere of Toy Story OF TERROR! opened at #1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, giving ABC its best performance in the time period in nearly 2 years – since 11/09/11. In addition, it was the night’s dominant #1 show with Kids 2-11 posting the Net’s highest rating in the half-hour in almost 6 years – 11/28/07. It was also the most social entertainment broadcast show of the evening (26k tweets). Among viewers and young adults, Toy Story OF TERROR! stands as broadcast TV’s highest-rated animated special since November 2011 and ABC’s top animated special since December 2009 – since 11/29/11 and 12/08/09. In the 8:30pm half-hour, ABC’s Back in the Game grew 6% week to week in Adults 18-49, beating NBC’s Revolution in the time period by 36%. The new ABC comedy was also up week to week in other key demos, hitting series highs with Adults 18-34, Women 18-34, Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. For the 4th consecutive week this season, ABC’s Modern Family was Wednesday’s dominant #1 TV show among Adults 18-49. Modern Family was up week to week in Total Viewers (+3%) Adults 18-49 (+5%). ABC’s Super Fun Night was the #2 series in 9:30pm half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating the final half-hour of NBC’s L&O: SVU by 11%. In addition, the freshman comedy ranked #2 in the half-hour with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, while ranking as the #1 broadcast program with Teens 12-17. At 10pm, ABC’s Nashville held steady week to week in Adults 18-49, beating NBC’s Ironside by a best-yet 60%. In addition for the 3rd week in a row, Nashville beat out its broadcast competition in the hour with Women 18-34.
Thursday: Opposite Game 5 of the ALCS playoffs, ABC earned second place on Thursday in Adults 18-49, beating Fox’s baseball coverage by 4% and doubling NBC on the night (+100%). ABC’s Scandal was up 6% week to week (2nd-highest-ever number) and up 74% year to year, to stand as the week’s #1 10pm drama (tracking as the week’s #1 broadcast drama overall) and as the #2 TV show on Thursday for the 3rd week running (behind only The Big Bang Theory). ABC was up over the year-ago Thursday for the 3rd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (+4%). During the 8 o’clock hour, ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland beat NBC’s comedies for the 2nd week in a row (Parks and Recreation/Welcome to the Family) in Total Viewers (+1.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9%). The freshman ABC drama essentially matched the delivery of NBC’s veteran drama Parenthood on the night. Based on Live + 3 Day for its series debut, Wonderland saw its Adult 18-49 number build 35% to a 2.3 rating (+0.6 rating points) and also saw its Total Viewer count grow by 1.5 million to 7.3 million viewers. At 9pm, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy ranked #1 in Adults 18-49, beating Fox’s MLB playoff coverage by 17%, CBS’ comedies by 17% (The Crazy Ones/Two and a Half Men) and once again more than doubled NBC’s comedies (+125% over Sean Saves the World/The Michael J Fox Show). Grey’s delivered strong week to week retention in viewers (100%) and young adults (96%). Building on its Grey’s lead-in for the 3rd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (by a best-ever +22%), ABC’s Scandal beat its combined drama competition by 18% on CBS (Elementary) and NBC (Parenthood) during the 10pm hour. It also ranked #1 in the slot with Total Viewers. Scandal was up week to week in Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults18-49 (+6%) to deliver the series’ 2nd-best-ever numbers, behind only its 3rd season premiere two weeks ago. On average in Adults 18-49, Scandal is up 65% over its first three telecasts last year making the ABC drama the fastest growing returning series this season. Social Stats: All 3 of ABC’s Thursday dramas ranked among the top 5 most social broadcast series of the evening, led by Scandal (#1), Grey’s (#3) and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (#5). Currently, Scandal ranks as ABC’s most-social series to date with over 2 million tweets.
Friday: With week-to-week increases for each of its shows on the night, ABC ran neck-and-neck with CBS for #1 on Friday in Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share. ABC outdelivered NBC by 27% and Fox by 40%. ABC’s Shark Tank was Friday’s #1 TV program for the 5th week running in Adults 18-49. At 8pm, ABC’s Last Man Standing was up 8% week to week in Adults 18-49. At 8:30pm, The Neighbors grew 11% over the prior week in Adults 18-49. Increasing over its lead-in by 100% at 9pm, ABC’s Shark Tank dominated its hour by 43% over second-place CBS’ Hawaii Five-0. The ABC unscripted series surged 18% week to week in Adults 18-49 to match a season-high. On average, Shark Tank is up over the comparable weeks last season by 9% in Total Viewers and by 17% in Adults 18-49. During the 10pm hour, ABC’s 20/20 gained 9% in Adults 18-49 and 7% in Adults 25-54 over the previous week.
Saturday: With college football coverage (Florida State vs. Clemson), ABC ran neck-and-neck with Fox’s MLB playoffs for #1 on Saturday among Adults 18-49, pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point and tied in audience share. In fact, ABC tied Fox in Men 18-34 and Men 18-49 as the night’s highest-rated network. In addition, ABC dominated NBC’s college football coverage by 79% in Total Viewers and by 150% in Adults 18-49. ABC’s Saturday Night Football was up over the year-ago game in Total Viewers (+19%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%) for the 3rd consecutive telecast.
Sunday: Opposite NBC’s big Sunday Night Football contest (Broncos-Colts) and an NFL overrun-boosted CBS pushing its lineup back approximately 30 minutes, ABC delivered Sunday’s Top 2 broadcast dramas in Adults 18-49 for the 4th consecutive week with Once Upon a Time and Revenge, outdelivering NFL-assisted CBS’ The Good Wife and The Mentalist. In addition, Once Upon a Time and Revenge were Sunday’s Top 2 most social entertainment series on broadcast TV. The Net increased its overall audience for the 2nd week in a row (+4%) to a best-since-premiere number. In the 7 o’clock hour, America’s Funniest Home Videos was up 6% in Total Viewers over its season premiere the prior week. Sunday’s top-rated broadcast drama, ABC’s Once Upon a Time, surged 91% over its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8pm and gained 5% from its first half-hour to its second half-hour. Live + 7 Day Ratings: On average this season, Once Upon a Time builds 46% over its L+SD number to a 3.8 rating in Adults 18-49 in L+7 (+1.2 rating points). This year’s Adult 18-49 build in TV playback for the show is 11 percentage points higher than the same point last year (+46% vs. +35%). During the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s Revenge defeated its CBS’ drama competition (The Good Wife) in Adults 18-49. Revenge increased its overall audience week to week (+3%). Live + 7 Day Ratings: On average this season, ABC’s Revenge adds 52% to its L+SD number up to a 3.2 rating in L+7 (+1.1 rating points). Like its lead-in, Revenge’s L+7 increase with Adults 18-49 is 11 full percentage points higher than the same point last year (+52% vs. +41%). During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Betrayal was up week to week by 21% in Total Viewers and 13% in Adults 18-49. ABC’s freshman drama continued to outperform its CBS drama competition (The Mentalist) in Women 18-34, leading by 22%. Live + 7 Day Ratings: Betrayal showed a big increase in L+7 Adult 18-49 gains for its second telecast (+55% in Week 2 vs. +40% in Week 1). On average, the new ABC drama is delivering a 1.9 L7 Adult 18-49.
