Season 12 Finale of ABC's GREY'S ANATOMY Is Thursdays No. 1 TV Show in A18-49

ABC ranked No. 1 on the final Thursday of the 2015-16 season in Live + Same Day Adults 18-49 (1.3/5-tie). The Net's Thursday averages will continue to build with strong gains from TV playback. In fact ABC has regularly won Thursday in the Live + 3 Day Adult 18-49 ratings since the return of its TGIT lineup in February (on 2/11/16), finishing as the No. 1 entertainment network on the evening on 13 of the final 14 weeks this season.

ABC's 12th season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49. "Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 8.1 million and 2.3/9 in AD18-49): At 8:00 p.m., the 12th season finale of ABC's "Grey's" was up in Total Viewers (+4% - 8.1 million vs. 7.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+10% - 2.3/9 vs. 2.1/8), scoring 14-week highs on both measures - since 2/11/16. "Grey's" also grew 5% over its year-ago season finale in Adults 18-49 (2.2/8 on 5/14/15).

"The Catch" (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.1 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
From 9:00-11:00 p.m., the 2-hour freshman finale of "The Catch" held even with its week-ago Fast Affiliate Adult 18-49 rating (0.9/3), which adjusted up 1-tenth in the National ratings. Live + 7 Day Ratings for "The Catch" Season 1: On average "The Catch" spikes by 80% in Adults 18-49 over its Live + Same Day number to deliver a 1.8 rating in Live + 7 Day. The ABC drama also adds 2.8 million viewers to average 7.8 million viewers in Live + 7 Day Total Viewers.

On average during its first season run, "The Catch" improved its Thursday 10:00 p.m. time period year to year for ABC by 11% in Total Viewers and 7% in Adults 18-49.

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 49% 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 5/19/16, unless otherwise specified.

Photo credit: ABC/ Byron Cohen*

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