ABC's SCANDAL Tops Its Slot in Adults 18-49; Holds 90% of Its Week-Ago Premiere

ABC's TGIT Return Scores Big L+3 Lifts Last Week: From L+SD to L+3 among Adults 18-49, "Grey's Anatomy" surged by +1.2 rating points (matching its 2nd-largest lift this season); "Scandal" jumped +1.1 rating points; and "How to Get Away with Murder" also grew by +1.1 rating points (tying a playback season-high). ABC claimed last Thursday's Top 3 highest-rated shows in L+3 among Adults 18-49, with "Grey's" (3.8 rating) - No. 1, "Scandal" (3.1 rating) - No. 2 and "HTGAWM" (2.6 rating) - No. 3.

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.6 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49): With its TGIT schedule facing CBS' and NBC's original lineups with series debuts, as well as originals on Fox, ABC won Thursday for the 2nd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), beating CBS by 13% (1.6/6), NBC by 64% (1.1/4) and doubling FOX (+100% - 0.9/3). Please note: ABC's TGIT dramas each returned last Thursday at season/multi-month highs.

Social Rankings: ABC's "Scandal" was the most social broadcast on Thursday night (255.8K interactions), "Grey's" was No. 2 (209.7K) and "Murder" No. 4 (107.0K).

At 8:00 p.m., "Grey's" stood as the No. 2 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49 (2.3/8), behind only CBS' "The Big Bang Theory." ABC's "Grey's" topped THE BIG BANG THEORY by 13% in Adults 18-34 (1.8/9 vs. 1.6/8) to rank as Thursday's top-rated TV show. "Grey's" was up from its comparable year-ago telecast (on 2/18/16) following its mid-season return in Total Viewers (+8% - 8.4 million vs. 7.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.3/8 vs. 2.2/8).

At 9:00 p.m., "Scandal" won its hour in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), beating runner-up CBS' comedies by 29% (1.4/5 - "Mom"/"Life in Pieces"). "Scandal" retained 90% of its week-ago season premiere in Adults 18-49 to match its 2nd-highest rating in nearly 1 year - since 2/11/16. "Scandal" also grew over its comparable year-ago telecast (on 2/18/16) by 8% in Total Viewers (6.6 million vs. 6.1 million) and held even with Adults 18-49 (1.8/6)

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" dominated its hour in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5), outdelivering CBS' debut of "Training Day" by 44% (0.9/3) and NBC's "The Blacklist" by 44% (0.9/4).

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 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 2/2/17. Nielsen Social: 2/2/17, Facebook and Twitter total interactions based on +/-3 hours of the telecast.