ABC's SCANDAL Moves Past “Blacklist” as the Season's No. 1 Drama in C3 Adults 18-49

Despite facing NBC's high-rated 3-hour live "The Sound of Music," ABC was up 5% from its most recent regular Thursday line-up two weeks ago to deliver a 5-week high on the night in Adults 18-49 - since 10/31/13.

In Adults 18-49, ABC's "Scandal" finished as the No. 2 TV series of the night for its 4th-straight telecast, behind only CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." In addition, "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" continued to stand as Thursday's Top 2 dramas with young adults.

Please Note: ABC's Thursday line-up was pre-empted in Houston for local NFL coverage.

"Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 3.6 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" grew over its most recent telecast in Total Viewers (+2%), Adults 18-49 (+11%) and Adults 18-34 (+50%). In fact, the ABC drama earned its highest young adult numbers since October 24, 2013.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 7.5 million and 2.4/6 in AD18-49):
Building on its lead-in by 140% at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" beat out its regular time period competition in Adults 18-49, leading CBS' comedies in The Hour (+9% - "The Crazy Ones"/"Two and a Half Men" = 2.2/6) and more than doubling Fox's "Glee" (+118% - 1.1/3).

"Scandal" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 8.6 million and 3.1/8 in AD18-49):
Building on its "Grey's" lead-in against the final hour of NBC's "Sound of Music" by a best-ever 29% at 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Scandal" was up over its last telecast by 7% in Adults 18-49 to earn its best number since mid-October - since 10/17/13.

Despite big competition, "Scandal" surged by double-digit percentages year to year (7.4 million and 2.5/7 on 12/6/12) in Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+24%). On average, "Scandal" is up 57% over the same point last year in Adults 18-49, making it TV's fastest-growing returning series this season and ABC's highest-rated show in the time slot since "Lost" during the 2007-08 season.

Season to date in the C3 Adult 18-49 ratings, ABC's "Scandal" (3.58 rating) just moved ahead of NBC's "Blacklist" (3.55 rating), with the most recent week of data, to become the season's No. 1 broadcast drama in the key advertiser measure.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 48% currently, from 46% at the same point in 2012. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 12/05/13.

To post a comment, you must register and login.