GREY'S ANATOMY Tops Thursday in Key Demo for Second Straight Week

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" ranked as Thursday's No. 1 program for the 2nd week running in Adults 18-49 (2.0/8), tied with CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL game. Head-to-head from 8:00-9:00 p.m., the ABC drama beat CBS' basketball game in the hour by 5% among young adults (2.0/8 vs. 1.9/7). "Grey's Anatomy" was also the most watched show of the night (7.9 million).

• Despite the stronger competition on CBS, "Grey's" was steady week to week in Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 7.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/8 vs. 2.1/8), attracting its biggest audience since its mid-season return 6 weeks ago - since 2/11/16.

"Scandal" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 6.2 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):

Opposite increased competition from CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL game, ABC's "Scandal" was even with the prior week among Adults 18-49 (1.6/5) and up 9% in Adults 18-34.

"The Catch" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.8 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m., the debut of ABC's "The Catch" grew over the week-ago season finale of "How to Get Away with Murder" in Total Viewers (+9% - 5.8 million vs. 5.3 million) to draw the Net's largest audience in the hour in 6 weeks - since 2/11/16.

• ABC's new drama dominated its freshman drama competition in the hour on NBC ("Shades of Blue") by 16% in Total Viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.0 million) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/4).

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 48% 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 03/24/16, unless otherwise specified.

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