ABC Freshman NOTORIOUS Grows Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.4 million and 1.4/5 in AD18-49): Opposite strong sports competition from CBS' Thursday Night Football coverage and the MLB Playoffs between two of the Top 3 market teams (LA Dodgers-Chicago Cubs), as well as Fox's highly-promoted "Rocky Horror Picture Show," ABC delivered the No. 1 entertainment program on Thursday in Adults 18-49 with "Grey's Anatomy." In fact, "Grey's" beat out runner-up "Rocky Horror Picture Show" by 24% on the night as the top non-sports show in Adults 18-49 (2.1/8 vs. 1.7/6). "Grey's" was Thursday's highest-rated TV series for the 5th straight week this season.

ABC's Thursday primetime delivery was up week to week by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/5 vs. 1.3/5).

ABC's Thursday Dramas Score Biggest L+3 Lifts Last Week: From L+SD to Live + 3 Day Adults 18-49, last week's telecast of "Grey's" surged by a season-best +62%, freshman "Notorious" jumped by a best-yet +63% and "Murder" shot up +91% to post the series' two biggest-ever L+3 lifts back to back. In addition, last Thursday's "Grey's" scored its largest actual L+3 increase this season among Adults 18-49, growing by +1.3 rating points to a 3.4 rating to hold even with the prior week (after being down by 2-tenths in L+SD).

Leading off last night at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" added 4% in Total Viewers (8.1 million vs 7.8 million) week to week and held even with Adults 18-49 (2.1/8).

At 9:00 p.m., ABC freshman "Notorious" grew week to week in both Total Viewers (+3% - 4.0 million vs. 3.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 0.9/3 vs. 0.8/3).

Surging over its lead-in at 10:00 p.m. (+8%/+33%), ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" increased from the prior week by 8% in Total Viewers (4.3 million vs. 4.0 million) and 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4). Beating out NBC's "The Blacklist" by 9% in the hour (1.1/4), ABC's "Murder" ranked as the No. 1 TV series in its slot for the 5th week running this season among 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 10/20/16.

Image courtesy of ABC

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