ABC's GREY'S ANATOMY is Thursday's No. 1 TV Series and Grows Year to Year by 5%

gainst the increased competition from CBS, ABC's lineup held steady week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.6/6). "Grey's" (2.3/8 vs. 2.4/9) and "Notorious" (1.0/3 vs. 1.1/4) each came within 1-tenth of the prior week, and "How to Get Away with Murder" held exactly even (1.3/5). In addition, "Notorious" (+2%) and "Murder" (+9%) both grew week to week in Total Viewers.

TV Playback Note: ABC's Thursday dramas see significant increases via TV playback. Last week from L+SD to L+3 in Adults 18-49, "Grey's" advanced +50%, "Notorious" +36% and "Murder" +69%.

For the 3rd week in a row at 8:00 p.m., "Grey's Anatomy" emerged as Thursday's No. 1 TV series with Adults 18-49 (2.3/8). For the 2nd straight week, the 13th season ABC drama grew over its year-ago telecast in Adults 18-49 (+5% over a 2.2/8 on 10/8/15).

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's freshman "Notorious" outdrew Fox's freshman "Pitch" in the hour by 1.0 million viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.6 million) and tied in Adults 18-49 (1.0/3) to rank as Thursday's most watched new drama.

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "HTGAWM" ranked as the No. 1 series in the hour for the 3rd straight week over NBC's "The Blacklist" in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5 vs. 1.2/4). Please Note in L+7: The season premiere telecast of "Murder" shot up by 107% from its L+SD number (1.4 rating to a 2.9 rating).

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 Ratings for 10/6/16.

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