ABC's SCANDAL Closes Out At 2-1/2 Month Highs and Beats Last Year's Finale

ABC's TGIT lineup once again nearly tied a "Big Bang"-led CBS for No. 1 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 (1.3/6 vs. 1.4/6), while defeating NBC by 86% (0.7/3) and FOX by 117% (0.6/2). Boasting strong delayed viewing for its Thursday dramas, ABC is projected to move ahead and win Thursday night, once Live + 7 Day Adult 18-49 ratings become available.

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" ran a strong 2nd in its hour with Adults 18-49 (1.6/7) against CBS' top-rated comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Young Sheldon") and won the hour by 10% in Adults 18-34 to stand as Thursday's No. 1 TV show with the younger end of the key sales demo. "Grey's" held even with its week-earlier Fast Affiliate rating, which adjusted up 1- tenth in the National ratings.

Delivering its best-yet retention out of "Grey's" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Station 19" grew week to week by 10% in Adults 18-49 to a 3-week high (since 3/29/18) and equaled the series' 2nd best rating to date. The new ABC drama won its hour with Adults 18-34 and key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

Building 18% on its lead-in 10:00 p.m., ABC's series finale of "Scandal" shot to the top of its hour with Adults 18-49 (1.3/5), beating NBC's "Chicago Fire" by 30% (1.0/4) and CBS' "S.W.A.T." by 44% (0.9/4). It was also the most-watched show overall in the time slot (5.4 million). "Scandal" grew for the 3rd week in a row with Total Viewers (+29% - 5.4 million vs. 4.2 million) and advanced 44% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5 vs. 0.9/4), scoring its highest numbers in 2-1/2 months - since 2/1/18. The ABC drama also topped its year-ago season closer (5.2 million and 1.2/5 on 5/18/17) by 4% in Total Viewers and 8% in Adults 18-49.

"Scandal" stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, Guillermo Diaz as Huck, Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan, Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins, Tony Goldwyn as Fitzgerald Grant, Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene, Joshua Malina as David Rosen, Bellamy Young as President Mellie Grant, Scott Foley as Jake Ballard, Joe Morton as Rowan Pope, Cornelius Smith Jr. as Marcus Walker and George Newbern as Charlie.

"Scandal" was created by Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy," "How to Get Away with Murder"). Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers ("Grey's Anatomy," "How to Get Away with Murder"), and Mark Fish are executive producers. "Scandal" is produced by ABC Studios.

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