ABC's GREATEST HITS Opens at 3-Year Summertime Time-Slot High in Adults 18-49

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.0 million and 0.9/4 in AD18-49): With "BattleBots," the debut of "Greatest Hits" and a repeat of the "Match Game" pilot, ABC took second on Thursday night in Total Viewers (4.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.9/4), outdrawing an "Olympic Trials"-boosted NBC in viewers (3.6 million) and tying with young adults.

"BattleBots" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 3.6 million and 0.9/4 in AD18-49): Leading off the night against NBC's "Olympic Trials" from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "BattleBots" held 92% of its week-ago 2-hour premiere delivery with Total Viewers (3.6 million vs. 3.9 million) and 90% in Adults 18-49 (0.9/4 vs. 1.0/4), while growing 20% in Women 18-34.

"BattleBots" continued to deliver solid time-period growth for ABC, topping original programming on the same night last year by 29% in Adults 18-49 ("Astronaut Wives Club" on 7/2/15 = 0.7/3).

"Greatest Hits" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 4.8 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):
Building on its lead-in by 22% in Adults 18-49 at 9:00 p.m. against CBS' "Big Brother," ABC's debut of "Greatest Hits" (1.1/4) defeated its freshman competition in the hour by 10% on NBC ("Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge" = 1.0/4) and more than doubled it on FOX (+120% over "Home Free" = 0.5/2).

"Greatest Hits" greatly improved its time slot for ABC from the year-ago night with original programming ("Mistresses" on 7/2/15 = 3.0 million and 0.6/3) by 60% in Total Viewers and 83% in Adults 18-49. The new unscripted series drew ABC's biggest summertime audience (Memorial Day-Labor Day) with regular programing in the hour since August 2014 and tied its best Adult 18-49 rating since May 2013 - since 8/21/14 and 5/30/13, respectively.

"Match Game-R" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 3.7 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
At 10:00 p.m., a repeat of last week's Sunday debut telecast for "Match Game" won the 10 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (3.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.9/4), more than doubling NBC's first-run "Aquarius" with young adults (2.0 million and 0.4/2).

Projections Rationale:
Lifts vs. L+SD are based on 2015-16 season averages for originals (excluding the premiere).
Returning shows: Profile based on same show (either premiere or averages for originals).
New Series: Based on similar series.

A note about DVR penetration: DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample is currently at 49% in U.S. TV Homes. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which are increasingly not reflected in the overnight Live + Same Day numbers. As a result, the Live + 7 Day ratings are the most accurate Nielsen measure to gauge the size of the TV audience.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Program Ratings for 6/30/16, unless otherwise specified.

Photo credit: ABC/Adam Taylor/Byron Cohen

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