Overall: For the 3rd consecutive week (w/o 4/29/13), ABC was the 2nd-most-watched TV network to CBS, outdrawing Fox by 12% and NBC by 20%. The Network delivered 5 of the Top 20 scripted series for the week in Adults 18-49, including 3 of the Top 10: Modern Family – #2, Grey’s – #5, Scandal – #9, Once Upon a Time – #15 and How to Live with Your Parents – #18. ABC’s Scandal was the week’s highest rated 10 o’clock series in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, finishing as TV’s #1 regular 10pm drama with young adults for its 11th consecutive first-run broadcast (on each week since its January return). ABC’s Murder Mystery: Amanda Knox Speaks – A Diane Sawyer Exclusive ranked as the #1 news program with key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54). Dancing with the Stars was the most-watched unscripted series, outdrawing both editions of NBC’s The Voice and Fox’s American Idol, and finishing as the #3 show overall. Growing for the 3rd week in row in Adults 18-49 (+7%), ABC drew its largest audience and top young adult number in 4 weeks – since w/o 04/01/13.
Monday: ABC was Monday’s most-watched TV network for the 2nd week in a row, topping NBC by 2.2 million viewers, Fox by 4.9 million viewers and CBS by 5.0 million viewers. Dancing with the Stars was Monday’s most-watched TV show overall and Castle continued to rank as the night’s most-watched scripted series. In addition, at 10pm Castle finished #1 in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row. Leading each half-hour to finish as Monday’s top show, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars drew 6% more viewers than NBC’s The Voice in head-to-head competition in the 2-hour slot. As The Voice declined week to week in Adults 18-49, ABC’s DWTS held even in the demo. Castle ranked #1 in the 10pm hour for the 2nd week running in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, defeating by solid margins both CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 and NBC’s Revolution. Castle has been the #1 regular series in its time period for 8 consecutive first-run airings in Total Viewers and for 4 straight originals in Adults 18-49. In addition, the ABC drama was Monday’s most-watched scripted series for its 7th consecutive broadcast.
Tuesday: ABC’s Murder Mystery: Amanda Knox Speaks – A Diane Sawyer Exclusive was the most-watched TV show in Tuesday’s 10 o’clock hour, outdrawing CBS’ Golden Boy by 12% and NBC’s The Voice-led time period premiere of Grimm by 47%. In addition, the ABC News program beat out CBS’ Golden Boy by strong margins in Adults 25-54 (+26%) and Adults 18-49 (+31%). Building on its lead-in, Murder Mystery: Amanda Knox Speaks – A Diane Sawyer Exclusive delivered 12-week highs for ABC in the hour with Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 – since 2/5/13.
Wednesday: Returning to an all-original lineup on the night for the first time in 3 weeks (since 4/10/13), ABC’s Modern Family came back as Wednesday’s #1 TV show in Adults 18-49, outdelivering Fox’s American Idol on the evening by 24%. Modern has now beaten or tied Idol-Wed in each of its last 5 originals. Out of Modern, How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) continued to deliver improved lead-in retention for ABC year to year and was up sharply week to week. At 8pm against unusually strong competition from a 3-way reality battle (Idol, The Voice and Survivor), ABC’s The Middle held 100% of its Adult 18-49 delivery from its most recent original three weeks ago. The ABC family comedy took second to Idol in the half-hour with Adults 18-34, while ranking as the #1 broadcast show in Teens 12-17. Opposite stiff competition at 8:30pm, ABC’s series debut of Family Tools delivered the Net’s largest audience in the slot in 4 weeks (since 4/3/13). Building on its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9pm (+140%), ABC’s Modern Family dominated its half-hour by 20% over American Idol and outrated its nearest scripted competition in the slot by 50% (CBS’ Criminal Minds). Modern held 95% of its last original airing with young adults. During the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s How to Live with Your Parents was up 40% week to week in Adults 18-49 to earn its 3rd-highest rating. In addition, How to Live with Your Parents delivered stronger young adult lead-in retention year to year for ABC in the half-hour, compared to B—- in Apt 23 on the year-ago night out of an original Modern Family (58% vs. 56%). During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Nashville won over its drama competition on CBS (CSI) and NBC (Chicago Fire) in Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49) and ran in a virtual tie for #1 in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 2-tenths of the hour’s lead and tied in audience share). The ABC freshman drama retained 94% of its most recent original in Adults 18-49 and 100% in Adults 18-34. Delivering among the biggest increases in TV playback this season, Nashville’s Adult 18-49 rating for originals spikes 58% on average (going from a 1.9 in L+SD to a 3.0 rating in L+7).
Thursday: ABC finished #2 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 to CBS, as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal ranked as the night’s Top 2 dramas for the 2nd week in a row. ABC’s Scandal is on track to finish as the #1 regular 10 o’clock drama on any net on any night with young adults for its 11th consecutive first-run broadcast (on each week since its January return). In fact Grey’s outdelivered American Idol for the first time in Adults 18-49 and Scandal tied Idol for the 2nd week running. The Net was up 5% from the same night last May in Adults 18-49 performance on the same Thursday last May. In its season finale, Wife Swap was up 9% week to week in viewers and held 100% in Adults 18-49. The ABC unscripted series was up by double-digit percentages from its last season finale in viewers (+19%) and young adults (+10%). Spiking over its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+173%) at 9pm and growing week to week, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy surged to rank as the #1 series in its hour for its 5th straight original, beating CBS’ Person of Interest by 25%, Fox’s Idol-driven Glee by 58% and NBC’s comedies by 67% (The Office/Parks and Recreation season finale). Grey’s was up over the prior week by 11% in Adults 18-49 to equal a 10-week high, while straight out delivering its top Women 18-34 number in 10 weeks – since 3/21/13 and 2/21/13, respectively. With strong lead-in retention, ABC’s Scandal dominated its 10 o’clock drama competition in Adults 18-49, outdelivering CBS’ Elementary by 30% and NBC’s Hannibal by 136%. Scandal has been the #1 TV series in its time slot on each of its last 14 originals. Continuing to outpace its freshman season by wide margins, Scandal was up from the same night last year by 21% in viewers and by 37% in young adults. Building its overall audience (+3%), Scandal earned its most-watched telecast since March 21, 2013. Scandal Social Activity: The ABC sophomore drama continued to register as Thursday’s #1 most social broadcast series during primetime, with an 86% advantage over #2 American Idol in number of tweets. ABC’s most social show this season with 3.4 million total tweets, Scandal’s social activity was up 65% over last week to its 2nd-highest-ever levels for any episode.
Friday: ABC led the pack on Friday in Adults 18-49 by double digits over CBS (+18%), NBC (+30%) and Fox (+44%). ABC’s Shark Tank continued its run as Friday’s #1 TV series on the major nets in Adults 18-49 and 20/20 held the #2 position. 20/20 was Friday’s #1 newsmagazine in viewers and key adults, outdelivering NBC’s Dateline at 9pm and Rock Center at 10pm. Season to date ABC is the #1 network on Friday in Adults 18-49, up over the comparable weeks last year by 13% to its strongest delivery on the night in 4 years – since the 2008/09 season. At 8pm, Happy Endings surged 33% week to week in Adults 18-49 and, at 8:30pm, the Happy Endings season closer was up 17% over the prior week. Jumping over its lead-in (+143%), ABC’s Shark Tank dominated its net rivals in the 9 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, outperforming NBC’s Dateline by 42%, CBS’ Vegas by 89% and Fox’s Touch by 183%. The ABC unscripted show was Friday’s top-rated TV series on the major nets in Adults 18-49 in each of its last 15 first-run airings. ABC’s 20/20 won the 10 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, leading runner-up CBS’ Blue Bloods by 23% and 5%, respectively. In addition from 10-11pm, the ABC newsmagazine defeated NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams by 1.3 million viewers, by 45% in Adults 18-49 and by 50% in Adults 25-54. 20/20 reported on shocking disclosures, from doctors and hairdressers and even burglars who revealed surprising secrets of their trades. 20/20 was up sharply week to week in Total Viewers (+22%), Adults 18-49 (+33%) and Adults 25-54 (+24%).
Sunday: ABC gained 7% on Sunday in Adults 18-49 from the previous week, delivering a 6-week high on the night – since 3/24/13. ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos took second in the 7 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49 to Fox with its NASCAR overrun, while ranking #1 with Women 18-49, and as the top broadcast with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. Spiking over its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+47%) at 8pm and growing week to week (+10%) against the season finale of Amazing Race XXII, ABC’s Once Upon a Time held #2 in its time period. In addition, the ABC drama continued to rank as the most social broadcast series on Sunday night. Once Upon a Time marked its most-watched telecast in 8 weeks and posted its highest Adult 18-49 number in 6 weeks – since 3/10/13 and 3/24/13, respectively. From 9-10pm opposite the second hour of the Amazing Race finale, Revenge increased 6% over the prior week and outdelivered the first hour of NBC’s 2-hour Celebrity Apprentice by a strong 38% in Adults 18-49. The ABC sophomore drama was up for its 2nd straight original in Adults 18-49 to equal a 2-month high – since 3/10/13. During the 10pm hour, ABC’s season finale of Red Widow surged 14% week to week in Adults 18-49.
