ABC's MODERN FAMILY and BLACK-ISH Hit Best-Since-Premiere Ratings
By: Caryn Robbins Oct. 13, 2016
ABC Wednesday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.6 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49): For the 4th straight week this season, ABC scored the No. 2 position on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6) to an "Empire"-fueled Fox, leading by double digits over CBS (+13% over "Survivor"/"Criminal Minds"/"Code Black" = 1.6/6) and NBC (+38% over "Blindspot"/"L&O: SVU"/"Chicago PD" = 1.3/5). Narrowing the gap week to week with Fox's "Empire" on the night by another 2-tenths to come within 1.0 rating point, ABC's "Modern Family" finished as the night's No. 2 TV show in Adults 18-49 (2.4/8).
Continuing to gain audience on the night, ABC's Wednesday grew year to year for the 4th straight week in Total Viewers (+10%) and remained even with Adults 18-49 (6.0 million and 1.8/6 on 10/14/15). In fact, ABC was the only major net to add audience from the year-ago night. ABC's Wednesday 8:00-10:00 p.m. comedy block was up 6% week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.9/7 vs. 1.8/7). "The Goldbergs" held even (1.8/7); "Speechless" held even (1.8/6); "Modern Family" grew 9% to a best-since-premiere rating (2.4/8 vs. 2.2/8); and "black-ish" surged 20% to a best-since-premiere rating (1.8/6 vs. 1.5/5). The No. 1 TV show at 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Designated Survivor" held exactly even week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6). For the freshman series' 4th consecutive telecast, "Designated Survivor" attracted additional viewers to ABC over its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. (+1.1 million) and ranked as the No. 1 series in Wednesday's final hour of prime among Total Viewers (7.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.6/6), besting NBC's "Chicago PD" (6.1 million and 1.4/5) and CBS' "Code Black" (6.0 million and 1.1/4). Improving its slot by wide margins, the new ABC drama was up in the hour from the year-ago night by 56% in Total Viewers and 45% in Adults 18-49 (4.5 million and 1.1/4 for "Nashville" on 10/14/15).Videos