ABC Wins 4th-Straight Week for Back-to-Back May Sweep Victories

ABC Adult 18-49 Weekly Ratings Projections (w/o 5/11/15)

ABC's weekly Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 average is projected to increase 30% to a 2.3 rating in Live + 3 Day and build 38% to a 2.5 rating in Live + 7 Day.

Week No. 34 (Live + Same Day)

ABC was up 13% to win its 4th-consecutive week with Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 - w/o 5/11/15), by 50% over its nearest competition (1.2/4 - CBS and NBC tied). Showing competitive momentum over the final 4 months of the season, ABC ranked No. 1 (7 times) or No. 2 (7 times) in the key young adult sales demo on 14 of the final 16 complete weeks - starting with the last week in January. In addition, the Net was No. 1 for the 4th week running in Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· 2014-15 Season: Season to date based on all programming (34 Weeks - Most Current 9/22/14-5/17/15 vs. 09/23/13-5/18/14), ABC is increasing its Total Viewers (+7% - 8.0 million vs. 7.5 million) and is the only major net up in Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.2/7 vs. 2.1/6). In the key young adult sales demo, CBS (-4% - 2.3/7 vs. 2.4/7), NBC (-11% - 2.4/8 vs. 2.7/8) and FOX (-24% - 1.9/6 vs. 2.5/7) are each down for the season. In addition, ABC has elevated its competitive position year to year, pacing just 2-tenths from 1st-place NBC (2.2/7 vs. 2.4/8) and moving up from 4th place at the same point last season. Furthermore, ABC is the No. 1 network this season in Nielsen's non-sports Adult 18-49 averages: ABC (2.2/7), CBS (2.1/7), NBC (1.9/6) and FOX (1.8/6).

· 2015 May Sweep: Leading its nearest competition by 31% (1.7/6 vs. 1.3/4 - CBS) with just 3 nights to count (25 of 28 nights), ABC will win its 2nd-consecutive May Sweep in Adults 18-49, marking its first back-to-back May victories in more than 23 years - predating the start of Nielsen's electronic database in September 1991. In fact, the Net will win each of the 4 weeks of the sweep and has ranked as the No. 1 broadcaster on 17 of 25 nights so far (incl. ties).

Rankings: For the 2nd week in a row, ABC delivered 7 of the Top 15 TV shows in Adults 18-49 (more than any net), claiming 5 of the Top 10, including the No. 1 program with the "Billboard Music Awards," the Top 2 broadcast dramas with "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" and the Top 3 of the Top 4 comedies with "Modern Family," "black-ish" and "The Goldbergs." "Billboard Music Awards" - No. 1, "Modern Family" - No. 3, "Scandal" - No. 7, "DWTS" and "Grey's" tied at No. 10, while "The Goldbergs" and "black-ish" tied at No. 15. In Total Viewers, the Net aired 3 of the Top 5 most watched shows with the "Dancing," "Billboard Music Awards" and "DWTS: The Results." "20/20" ranked as the No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49 (2nd week in a row) and Adults 25-54.

For the 5th week running, ABC was Monday's most watched TV network (11.8 million). In addition, the Net nearly caught NBC for No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 2.0/7), while beating CBS by 36% (1.4/5) and FOX by 90% (1.0/3). ABC earned its most watched Monday in 6 weeks and equaled a 9-week high with young adults - since 3/30/15 and 3/9/15, respectively.

· ABC's "Dancing" was the night's most watched TV show overall (13.5 million), ranking as Monday's No. 1 series for the 9th week running. "DWTS" was the evening's No. 2 show in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), marking its closest finish this season to NBC's "The Voice." In addition, "Dancing" tied "The Voice" as the Monday's top broadcast show in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34. On its season finale, ABC's "Castle" was Monday's most watched scripted TV show for the 3rd week in a row (8.4 million) and the night's No. 1 drama in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4).

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m. - 13.5 million and 2.2/7 in AD18-49):

From 8:00-10:01 p.m., ABC's semi-finals of "Dancing with the Stars" outdrew NBC's "The Voice" by a best-of-season 3.4 million viewers (13.5 million vs. 10.1 million) for the time-slot win and ran a strong second in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), leading by double digits over CBS (+47% - 1.5/5) and triple digits over FOX (+120% - 1.0/3 for "The Following"). In fact, "Dancing" delivered its closest Adult 18-49 finish this season with "The Voice," coming within 2-tenths of a rating point (2.2/7 vs. 2.4/8). "Dancing" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+16%), with its largest audience in 4 weeks and tying a season best in young adults.

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 8.4 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49):

During the 10:01 p.m. hour, on its season finale, ABC's "Castle" was the most watched TV show (8.4 million) for the 3rd week in a row and also ranked as the No. 1 series in its slot Adults 18-49 (1.4/4). "Castle" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+1%) and steady in Adults 18-49, drawing its biggest audience in 8 weeks - since 3/16/15.

"DWTS: The Results" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 10.2 million and 1.5/5 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: The Results" beat out its unscripted competition in the hour for the 2nd-straight week in Total Viewers (10.2 million), topping NBC's "The Voice" by 1.1 million viewers (9.1 million) and Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" by 6.9 million viewers (3.3 million). In addition, "Dancing" defeated Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" by 25% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.2/4). The show grew week to week in Adults 18-49 (+7%).

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 3.9 million and 1.3/4 in AD18-49):

From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's season finale of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." was the No. 2 series in each hour among Adults 18-49 (1.3/4) and ran as the No. 1 series in the 2-hour slot with Men 18-34. In addition, the finale was "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s" most social episode this season (92,010 tweets).

· The season finale of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." matched ABC's best Adult 18-49 rating with regular programming in the 2-hour time slot in 4 months and delivered a more than 6-month high with Men 18-34 - since 1/6/15 and 10/28/14, respectively.

· On average during its sophomore season, the ABC drama improved its Tuesday 9:00 p.m. hour by 35% in Adults 18-49 (2.7/8 vs. 2.0/6).

ABC won Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), ranking as the No. 1 broadcaster for the 3rd-straight Wednesday of a May Sweep for the first time in 15 years - since May 2000. Delivering 4 of the Top 5 series on the night with Adults 18-49, "Modern Family" was Wednesday's No. 1 TV show for its 6th-consecutive original while "black-ish" and "The Goldbergs" tied at No. 3, and "The Middle" came in at No. 5, behind only "Survivor." 2015 May Sweep Update: ABC has ranked as the No. 1 broadcaster in Adults 18-49 on 14 of 21 nights so far during the 2015 May Sweep.

· Season to date, ABC's Wednesday is up in both Total Viewers (+12%) and Adults 18-49 (+8%) from the same point last year.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 7.0 million and 1.8/7 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m. against "Survivor," ABC's season finale of "The Middle" took second, outdelivering the season finale of Fox's "Idol" for the 8th-week running in the half-hour among Adults 18-49 (+29% - 1.8/7 vs. 1.4/5) and beat its scripted competition on NBC by 80% (1.0/4 for "The Mysteries of Laura"). "The Middle" was up 6% week to week in Adults 18-49. Please Note: Last year's finale for "The Middle" was a 1-hour telecast on the final Wednesday of the season.

· On average, "The Middle" finished up for the season in both Total Viewers (+5% - 8.7 million vs. 8.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (+4% - 2.4/8 vs. 2.3/7).

"The Goldbergs" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 6.7 million and 2.0/7 in AD18-49):

Building on its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (+11%), "The Goldbergs" season closer took second, beating out "Idol's" finale in the slot for its 9th-consecutive original (+33% - 2.0/7 vs. 1.5/5) and doubling NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura" (+100% - 1.0/3). The show was steady with the prior week in Adults 18-49 and up 9% in Adults 18-34.

· "The Goldbergs" spiked over its year-ago finale (4.0 million and 1.4/4 on 5/13/14) by 68% in Total Viewers and 43% in Adults 18-49. On average during its sophomore season, "The Goldbergs" improved its Wednesday half-hour for ABC by 56% in Adults 18-49 (2.8/9 vs. 1.8/5) and was up a sharp 27% from its freshman season average on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. (2.8/9 vs. 2.2/6).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m. - 8.1 million and 2.7/9 in AD18-49):

Jumping over its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+35%), ABC's "Modern Family" shot up to win its half-hour by 59% over its closest competition (2.7/9 vs. 1.7/5 - Fox's "American Idol").

· Season to date, "Modern Family" is up 3% in Total Viewers (12.1 million vs. 11.8 million) and even in Adults 18-49 (4.4/13).

"black-ish" (9:31-10:00 p.m. - 6.1 million and 2.0/6 in AD18-49):

In the 9:30 p.m. slot, ABC's "black-ish" ranked No. 1 in its half-hour for the 4th week in a row, beating runner-up Fox's "American Idol" finale (+5% - 2.0/6 vs. 1.9/6). The freshman comedy was up for the 2nd week in Adults 18-34 (+14%) to equal a 6-month high - since 11/19/14.

· Season to date, "black-ish" is improving its half-hour for ABC by 3.0 million viewers (8.6 million vs. 5.6 million) and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/9 vs. 2.1/6) over the comparable weeks last year. "black-ish" is the 2014-15 season's No. 1 new comedy in Adults 18-49.

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.6 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):

During the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Nashville" season finale tied CBS' season finale of "CSI: Cyber" in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4). The ABC drama was on par with its week-ago Adult 18-49 rating (1.3/4) and its year-ago finale (1.3/4 on 5/14/14).

· On average for the season, "Nashville" grew 7% in Total Viewers (7.5 million vs. 7.0 million) and held even in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7).

ABC led the pack on the final Thursday of the season/sweep in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), beating finale/debut programming on CBS by 6% (1.7/6 w/finales of "The Odd Couple" and "Elementary"), NBC by 64% (1.1/4 w/"The Blacklist" finale) and FOX by 80% (1.0/4 w/"Wayward Pines" debut). The Net was the No. 1 broadcaster in Adults 18-49 on all 4 Thursdays of the 2015 May Sweep.

· On average during the sweep, ABC surged 27% on Thursday in Adults 18-49 (1.9 rating vs. 1.5 rating) and ranked No. 1 (tied w/CBS) on the night during the month for the first time in 6 years - since May 2009. In fact, ABC was the only broadcaster up on the night May to May. ABC has now finished as the No. 1 broadcaster in Adults 18-49 on 15 of 22 nights so far in the 2015 May Sweep.

· ABC's season finales of "Scandal" (2.3/8) and "Grey's Anatomy" (2.2/8) ranked as Thursday's Top 2 TV series in Adults 18-49, respectively. Please Note: "Scandal" aired its season finale last year in April with higher overall viewing levels, and the "Grey's" finale aired in an earlier time period this year.

"Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 8.3 million and 2.2/8 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" finale won its hour by 16% in Adults 18-49 over CBS' comedies (2.2/8 vs. 1.9/7) and beat its drama competition on FOX by 120% ("Bones" = 1.0/4). "Grey's" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%).

"Scandal" (9:00-10:01 p.m. - 8.1 million and 2.3/8 in AD18-49):

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Scandal" finale topped its regular competition in the hour among Adults 18-49 (2.3/8) by strong double digits over CBS' comedies (+21% - 1.9/6) and NBC's "The Blacklist" (+44% - 1.6/5), while more than doubling Fox's "Wayward Pines" debut (+130% - 1.0/3). "Scandal" was also the most watched TV show in the hour for the 2nd week in a row (8.1 million). The ABC drama grew week to week in Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%), drawing its largest overall audience in 9 weeks - since 3/12/15.

· On average for the season, "Scandal" was up in both Total Viewers (+8% - 12.9 million vs. 12.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% - 4.4/13 vs. 4.2/13), tracking as its best season yet.

"American Crime" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 4.2 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m., on its freshman finale, ABC's "American Crime" held steady in Total Viewers (4.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.0/3) at 4-week highs - since 4/16/15.

· The ABC freshman drama sees strong TV playback. On average season to date in the Live + 7 Day ratings, "American Crime" gains 58% in Adults 18-49 (7-tenths) from its L+SD number and adds another 2.2 million viewers to its next-day tally.

ABC led the pack for the 4th-straight Friday of the 2015 May Sweep in Adults 18-49 (1.4/6), ranking as the No. 1 broadcaster on the night on each of the final 6 weeks of the season. ABC was also the most watched network overall (6.3 million). On average during the sweep, ABC was up 33% year to year on Friday for its top-rated May Sweep delivery on the night in 9 years - since May 2006.

· ABC aired the night's top series in Adults 18-49 with "Shark Tank" and "Beyond the Tank" tying for No. 1, while ranking as Friday's Top 2 most watched shows overall. "20/20" was the night's No. 1 newsmagazine over NBC's "Dateline" (9:00-11:00 p.m.) in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

"Shark Tank" (8:00-9:01 p.m. - 7.0 million and 1.5/7 in AD18-49) At 8:00 p.m., ABC's season finale of "Shark Tank" won its earlier slot for the 4th-consecutive week, beating CBS' "The Amazing Race" finale by 1.3 million viewers (7.0 million vs. 5.7 million) and by 36% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/7 vs. 1.1/5).

· "Shark Tank" was up week to week in viewers (+4%) and on par in Adults 18-49. In addition, "Shark Tank" topped its year-ago season closer in Total Viewers (+4% - 6.7 million on 5/16/14) to deliver its most watched finale ever.

"Beyond the Tank" (9:01-10:01 p.m. - 6.2 million and 1.5/6 in AD18-49) Holding 100% of its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Beyond the Tank" was the No. 1 series in its hour on all 3 telecasts, beating its nearest broadcast competitor by a best-yet 88% (1.5/6 vs. 0.8/3 - NBC's "Dateline"). It was also the most watched show in the hour (6.2 million). "Beyond the Tank" grew week to week in Total Viewers (+11%) and Adults 18-49 (+7%).

"20/20" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 5.5 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49) In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "20/20" beat NBC's "Dateline" head to head in the slot by 22% in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 vs. 0.9/3) and by 23% in Adults 25-54 (1.6/5 vs. 1.3/4). 20/20 grew by 10% week to week in Total Viewers and was steady in Adults 25-54.

· On average, "20/20" is up over last season in Total Viewers (+4%), Adults 18-49 (+13%) and Adults 25-54 (+9%). In fact, the ABC newsmagazine is delivering its most watched season in 8 years and its strongest performance in both key demos in 6 years - since the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons, respectively.

With the season finale of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "The 2015 Billboard Music Awards," ABC dominated the final Sunday of the season/May Sweep in Adults 18-49 (No. 1 in all 8 half-hours), nearly tripling FOX with its season finales (+191% - 3.2/11 vs. 1.1/4). In fact, the Net won all 4 Sundays of the 2015 May Sweep in Adults 18-49. ABC was also the most watched network overall on Sunday, outdrawing CBS by 56% (10.0 million vs. 6.4 million). ABC's "Billboard Music Awards" was Sunday's No. 1 TV show in Total Viewers (11.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.8/12), as well as the most social program with 2.7 million tweets.

· Excluding only the night of the 2015 Oscars, ABC marked its strongest Sunday since November in viewers (since 11/23/14) and tied best Sunday this season in Adults 18-49.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m. - 6.4 million and 1.4/6 in AD18-49):

Building 10% over the prior week in Total Viewers (6.4 million vs. 5.8 million) and steady in Adults 18-49 (1.4/6), ABC's 25th season finale of "America's Funniest Home Videos" drew its biggest audience in 1 month (since 4/19/15). Winning its slot, the ABC video clip show was the No. 1 regular program in the hour for the 4th week in a row with Adults 18-49.

"The 2015 Billboard Music Awards" (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 11.2 million and 3.8/12 in AD18-49):

ABC's 3-hour telecast of the "2015 Billboard Music Awards" scored an across-the-board victory, topping its 8:00-11:00 p.m. time slot in Total Viewers, all key Adults (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) and Teens 12-17.

· Delivering its 3rd-straight year of Total Viewer growth (+5% - 11.2 million vs. 10.7 million) and gaining Adults 18-49 (+9% - 3.8/12 vs. 3.5/10), the "Billboard Music Awards" generated its most watched telecast in 14 years and earned a 12-year high in young adults - since 2001 and 2003, respectively. In addition, the annual show was up for the 3rd year with Teens 12-17 (+3%) to post its highest rating since 2003.

WEEK NO. 34: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS

No.1 ABC 1.8 No.1 CBS 7,330,000

No.2 CBS 1.2 No.2 ABC 7,270,000

No.2 NBC 1.2 No.3 NBC 5,530,000

No.4 FOX 1.0 No.4 FOX 3,490,000

No.5 CW 0.6 No.5 CW 1,650,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, National Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 05/11/15.

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