ABC was #2 for the Week in 18-49

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Overall: ABC took second place in Adults 18-49, beating NBC and Fox, while finishing within 1-tenth of a rating point of tying CBS for first. In addition, ABC was the 2nd-most-watched TV network overall for the 4th week in a row and tied for the lead in Adults 18-34. The Net delivered 3 of the Top 7 programs in Adults 18-49, as Scandal posted a new series high and was TV’s #1 drama for the 2nd time in 3 weeks:  Modern Family – #5, Scandal – #6 and Grey’s Anatomy – #7 (#2 drama).  In addition, ABC’s Scandal was the highest-rated 10 o’clock series for the 2nd week running in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, finishing as TV’s #1 regular 10pm drama with young adults for its 12th consecutive original (on each week since its January return). ABC’s 20/20 ranked as the #1 newsmagazine with key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54). DWTS was once again TV’s most-watched unscripted series, topping both editions of NBC’s The Voice and Fox’s American Idol. Growing for 4 straight weeks in Adults 18-49 (+19%), ABC delivered its top rating since mid-February with the Academy Awards.  In fact the Net equaled its best non-Oscar week since November – since w/o 11/26/12.


Monday: Topping all 6 half-hours of the night, ABC ranked as Monday’s most-watched TV network for the 3rd consecutive week, leading runner-up NBC by 2.2 million viewers, CBS by 4.8 million viewers and Fox by 10.3 million viewers.  For the 2nd week in a row, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars was Monday’s most-watched TV show overall, and Castle was Monday’s most-watched scripted series for its 8th straight broadcast.  Monday’s #1 TV show, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars widened its lead over NBC’s The Voice to a season-best of nearly 1.0 million viewers in head-to-head competition in the 2-hour slot.  Castle was the top draw in Monday’s 10pm hour by wide margins for its 9th consecutive original airing, outdrawing CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 by a best-of-season 2.8 million viewers and NBC’s Revolution by 4.7 million viewers.  In addition, Castle stood as the No. 1 regular series in the time period for 5 straight originals in Adults 18-49.  The ABC drama also won its slot in Adults 25-54 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Castle was up week to week in viewers (+3%) and held even in Adults 18-49.

Tuesday: In the 8pm hour opposite CBS’ NCIS and the first hour of NBC’s 2-hour The Voice, ABC’s season finale of Splash was up 11% week to week in Adults 18-49.   Extreme skier Rory Bushfield was the winner of the ABC celebrity diving competition.  Building 70% on its lead-in at 9pm, ABC’s DWTS: The Results Show grew week to week by 13% with Adults 18-49. ABC’s The Bachelor’s Sean Lowe was the next celebrity to leave the competition this season.  The ABC dancing results show was also up by strong margins over the prior week with Adults 18-34 (+22%) and Women 18-34 (+25%).  ABC’s Body of Proof returned after last week’s preemption as the most-watched TV show during Tuesday’s 10 o’clock hour, outdrawing runner-up CBS’ Golden Boy by 1.2 million viewers and NBC’s The Voice-led Grimm by 2.5 million viewers. It was the ABC drama’s 6th straight telecast to deliver the biggest audience in its slot. In addition, Body of Proof outdelivered CBS’ Golden Boy in the hour by 17% in Adults 18-49 and by 17% in Adults 25-54.

Wednesday: ABC’s Modern Family continued to rank as Wednesday’s #1 TV show in Adults 18-49, outdelivering NBC’s special The Voice live results show by 18% and Fox’s American Idol by 14%.  Modern has topped or tied Idol-Wed in each of its last 6 first-run airings. Out of Modern, How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life) improved its lead-in retention week to week and delivered better retention for ABC in the half-hour over the year-ago night.  At 8pm, opposite a 3-way reality faceoff (Idol, The Voice and Survivor), ABC’s The Middle tied Survivor in the half hour in Adults 18-34, while leading the CBS reality show by 21% in Women 18-34.  The ABC family comedy held the #1 position in the half-hour in Teens 12-17, beating The Voice by 14%, Idol by 45% and Survivor by 78%.  Despite the increased competition, The Middle paced within 2-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating of the prior week and was up with Women 18-34 (+6%) to tie an 11-week high.  Nearly tripling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9pm (+175%), ABC’s Modern Family won its half-hour over Idol and held a 32% advantage over its nearest scripted competition (CBS’ Criminal Minds).  During the 9:30pm half-hour, ABC’s How to Live with Your Parents delivered strong retention of its week-ago telecast in Total Viewers (95%), Adults 18-49 (95%) and Adults 18-34 (100%).  How to Live with Your Parents grew for the 2nd straight week in Men 18-34 (+11%) to its best number in 4 weeks.  In the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s Nashville continued to outdeliver its drama competition on CBS (CSI) and NBC (Chicago Fire) in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34. The ABC freshman drama was up week to week in Total Viewers (+2%).   Posting big increases via TV playback, season to date Nashville’s Adult 18-49 rating for originals goes up 58% on average from L+SD to L+7.

Thursday: ABC finished #2 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week in a row, as Scandal and Grey’s ranked as the night’s Top 2 dramas for the 3rd week running.  Posting a new series high, Scandal is on track to finish as TV’s #1 drama for the 2nd time in 3 weeks and delivered the highest rating for any regular 10 o’clock drama telecast on any network in 7 months – since 10/15/12.  In addition, Scandal outdelivered American Idol for the first time ever in Adults 18-49, and Grey’s topped Idol for the 2nd consecutive week.  ABC was up year to year on Thursday for the 2nd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (+14%).  In addition the Net built to match top-rated Thursday in over 6 months – since 11/01/12.  At 8pm, ABC’s Wipeout season premiere improved its slot by 18% week to week in Adults 18-49.  The ABC unscripted series was up from last season’s finale in Total Viewers (+10%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%).  Gaining sharply on its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+138%) at 9pm, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy was the #1 series in its hour for its 6th consecutive first-run airing, beating CBS’ season finale of Person of Interest by 29%, NBC’s 1-hour The Office by 35% and Fox’s Idol-driven finale of Glee by 55%.  Despite facing season finale competition, Grey’s was up for the 2nd week in Adults 18-49 to equal a 4-month high – since 01/10/13.  Building on its Grey’s lead-in, ABC’s Scandal hit an all-time high in Adults 18-49, spiking 23% week to week and surpassing its previous high by 14%.  The ABC sophomore drama won the 10 o’clock hour by wide margins in Adults 18-49, outdelivering CBS’ Elementary by a best-ever 68% and nearly tripled the delivery of NBC’s Hannibal (+191%), finishing as the #1 TV series in its slot on each of its last 15 first-run broadcasts.  Continuing to post big year-to-year gains, Scandal shot up 68% in Adults 18-49 from its telecast on the same night last year. In addition to delivering TV’s best Adult 18-49 number for any regular 10 o’clock drama telecast in 7 months, Scandal earned the top rating for any ABC 10pm drama since September 2011.  Scandal Social Activity: The ABC sophomore drama was Thursday’s #1 most social series during primetime, with a 40% advantage over #2 American Idol in number of tweets.  ABC’s most social show this season with 3.7 million total tweets, Scandal’s social activity rose 8% over last week to its 2nd-highest-ever levels for any episode of the show.

Friday: With a repeat Shark Tank, an original Shark Tank and 20/20 up against season finale programming on each of the other nets, ABC was the #1 broadcaster on Friday in Adults 18-49, holding strong double-digit advantages over CBS (+17%), NBC (+56%) and Fox (+56%). ABC’s Shark Tank stood as Friday’s #1 series in Adults 18-49 and 20/20 finished as the #2 series. ABC’s 20/20 was also once again Friday’s #1 newsmagazine in viewers and key adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), leading both NBC’s Dateline at 9pm and Rock Center at 10pm. ABC is the #1 network on Friday this season in Adults 18-49, gaining 13% year to year to its best delivery on the night in 4 years – since the 2008/09 season. From 8-9pm, ABC’s repeat Shark Tank beat out NBC’s finale of Fashion Star by 40% in Adults 18-49. Building sharply on its lead-in (+157%) and growing week to week (+6%), ABC’s Shark Tank stood as the #1 series in the 9 o’clock hour by wide margins in Adults 18-49, beating NBC’s Dateline by 64%, CBS’ finale of Vegas by 100% and Fox’s finale of Touch by 200%. Continuing to deliver its strongest season ever, Shark Tank was up over its performance on the same night last May in viewers (+9%) and young adults (+6%). ABC’s 20/20 ranked as the #1 series in the 10 o’clock hour for the 2nd week in a row with Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, dominating the season finale of CBS’ Blue Bloods (+42%/+16%) and NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams (+55%/+47%). Covering the two biggest stories making headlines this week, 20/20 reported on the Jodi Arias murder case in Arizona and the three women freed from captivity in Ohio.  Up for the 2nd week in a row with Total Viewers (+5%), Adults 18-49 (+6%) and Adults 25-54 (+5%), 20/20 matched a 5-month high in the key Adult 25-54 news demo – since 11/30/12. The ABC newsmagazine was up by double digits over its delivery on the same night last May in Total Viewers (+29%), Adults 18-49 (+21%) and Adults 25-54 (+16%).

Saturday: With coverage of the 2013 NBA Conference Semifinals (New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers), ABC won Saturday in Adults 18-49, beating Fox with NASCAR coverage by 31%. ABC turned in its strongest Saturday in nearly 6 months with young adults – since 11/24/12. Airing from 8:15-11pm, the NBA Playoffs on ABC stood as the #1 TV show on Saturday among Adults 18-49.

Sunday: Opposite CBS with its 3-hour Survivor finale, ABC built for the 2nd straight Sunday in Adults 18-49 (+6%) to earn second place on the evening. ABC won Sunday night in Women 18-34.  The Net matched its top Adult 18-49 rating with regular programming on the night since mid-January – since 1/13/13.  ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos took second in the 7 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49, while ranking #1 with key Women (W18-34/W18-49) and Teens 12-17.  AFHV hit a new season high with Teens 12-17, earning its best number in more than 1 year – since 3/4/12.  Surging 64% over its Adult 18-49 lead-in an building to an 8-week high, ABC’s season finale of Once Upon a Time earned second place to Survivor in the 8pm hour in Adults 18-49.  The ABC drama ranked #1 in the hour with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).  Once Upon a Time was up week to week in both Adults 18-49 (+5%) in Women 18-34 (+10%) to its best numbers in 2 months – since 3/17/13. From 9-11pm against the final 2 hours of Survivor, ABC’s season finale of Revenge outdelivered NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice in the time period by a strong 31% in Adults 18-49.  During its final hour from 10-11pm, Revenge posted ABC’s highest Adult 18-49 rating in the slot in over 6 months with series programming – since 10/28/12. In addition, the sophomore drama won the 10 o’clock hour over Survivor coverage in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.