RATINGS: ABC Ranks No. 1 in All 6 Half-Hours of Thursday Prime Time

Featuring the return of its drama lineup and a two-hour crossover event between "Station 19" and "Grey's Anatomy" from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC scored a new Thursday season high among Adults 18-49 (1.8/10) and delivered its highest-rated Thursday with entertainment programming since February 2019 - since 2/28/19. ABC stood as Thursday's No. 1 network in Adults 18-49, dominating its nearest competition by 80% (Fox = 1.0/5) and ranking No. 1 in all 6 half-hours of the night. ABC claimed the night's Top 3 shows in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 with "Grey's Anatomy," the season premiere of "Station 19" and "A Million Little Things," respectively.

Driven by the night's Top 3 biggest gainers in TV playback among Adults 18-49, ABC further distanced itself from the No. 2 network in the L+3 numbers, increasing its advantage to 8-tenths of a rating point (1.8/10 vs. 1.0/5 for Fox) compared to a 5-tenths lead in L+SD.

"Station 19" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 9.3 million and 1.8/9 in AD18-49):

Moving to the 8:00 p.m. hour in its third season, the premiere of ABC's "Station 19" marked the series' most-watched telecast ever (9.3 million). "Station 19" improved over its second season premiere (on 10/4/18) by 33% in Total Viewers (9.3 million vs. 7.0 million) and by 13% among Adults 18-49 (1.8/9 vs. 1.6/6). The ABC drama stood as Thursday's No. 2 show in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, behind only "Grey's Anatomy."

On its first telecast since May 2019, ABC's "Station 19" scored its biggest L+3 lift in Total Viewers (+2.32 million) since its series debut in March 2018 (since 3/22/18).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:01 p.m. - 9.6 million and 2.3/11 in AD18-49):

Shifting to the 9:00 p.m. hour on its midseason return, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" improved over its winter finale (on 11/21/19) by 9% in Total Viewers (9.6 million vs. 8.8 million) to draw its biggest audience since March 2019 (since 3/28/19) and by 5% with Adults 18-49 (2.3/11 vs. 2.2/11) to match its highest-rated telecast this season. "Grey's Anatomy" ranked as the No. 1 show of the night in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

On its first telecast since November, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" delivered its largest L+3 increase in Total Viewers (+2.93 million) since September 2018 (since 9/27/18) and tied its biggest of the season among Adults 18-49 (+0.9 rating points). "Grey's Anatomy" stood as the night's No. 1 gainer in TV playback in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

"A Million Little Things" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 7.0 million and 1.4/8 in AD18-49):

On its first telecast since November, ABC's "A Million Little Things" emerged as Thursday's No. 3 program in the L+3 numbers in both Total Viewers (7.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.4/8), moving up from No. 5 and No. 4, respectively, in L+SD. In its new 10:00 p.m. time slot, "AMLT" delivered ABC's best performance in the hour this season in Viewers and Adults 18-49.

Returning with its first telecast since November and moving to a new time period, "A Million Little Things" posted its largest playback lift this season from L+SD to L+3 in Total Viewers (+2.80 million) and doubled its Adult 18-49 rating (+100%) after 3 days of TV playback. "AMLT" ranked as Thursday's No. 2 playback gainer in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, behind only "Grey's Anatomy."

Source: The Nielsen Company, National Live+3 Day Program Ratings, 1/23/20.

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