For First Time Ever, MODERN FAMILY Ties 'Empire' as Wednesday's No. 1 Series

For the first time ever, ABC's MODERN FAMILY tied Fox's "Empire" as Wednesday's No. 1 TV series in Adults 18-49 (1.9/7). And despite leading off the night against "Empire," ABC's "The Goldbergs" (1.6/7) tied or beat all 6 of the CBS and NBC shows on the night, matching "Survivor" (1.6/6), while beating "SEAL Team" (1.2/5), "Criminal Minds" (1.1/4), "The Blacklist" (1.0/4), "Law & Order: SVU" (1.3/5) and "Chicago P.D." (1.2/5). Each of ABC's Wednesday series paced within 1-2 tenths of the prior week's season premieres and the comedies performed at or above where they closed out last season in their May finales. ABC finished No. 2 on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5-tied w/CBS), beating NBC by 18% (1.1/4).

Largely closing the gap week to week to come within 2-tenths of tying Fox's "Empire" as the No. 1 series in the 8:00 p.m. half-hour (vs. 6-tenths the prior week), ABC's "The
Goldbergs" ran a strong second in its slot with Adults 18-49 (1.6/7- tied w/"Survivor"). At 8:30 p.m. against the second half-hours of "Empire" and "Survivor," ABC's "Speechless" outdelivered NBC's "The Blacklist" by 30% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5 vs. 1.0/4).

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" won its half-hour for the 2nd week in a row with
Adults 18-49 (1.9/7), defeating Fox's "Empire"-led "Star" by 27% (1.5/6), CBS' "SEALTeam"
by 46% (1.3/5) and NBC's "L&O: SVU" by 46% (1.3/5).

At 9:30 p.m., ABC's "American Housewife" moved up in rank week to week to tie Fox's
"Star" as the No. 1 series in its slot with Adults 18-49 (1.4/5), while beating the second
half-hours of CBS' "SEALTeam" (1.2/5) and NBC's "L&O: SVU" (1.3/5). In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Designated Survivor" (0.9/4) ran in line with the Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 deliveries of its drama competition in the slot and is projected to lead the
hour once TV Playback is included.

"Designated Survivor" scored premiere Wednesday's biggest L+3 lift in Total Viewers with a +4.2 million spike (from 5.5 million to 9.7 million) and stands as the No. 1 percentage gainer of any series so far this season among Adults 18-49 with a +91% jump over its L+SD rating (from a 1.1/5 to a 2.1/8).

Projections Rationale:

Lifts vs. L+SD are based on 2016-17 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.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings for 10/4/17.

Image courtesy of ABC

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