ABC Leads Season with Upscale Young Adults

ABC Leads Season with Upscale Young Adults: Among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income in the non-sports numbers, ABC (2.74 rating) ranks No. 1 this season, leading NBC by 12% (2.44 rating), CBS by 16% (2.37 rating) and FOX by 55% (1.76 rating). ABC airs 7 of the Top 15 highest-rated broadcast entertainment series (the most for any net) among high-income young adults, including the No. 1 series overall with "Modern Family" and the No. 1 new show with "Murder:" "Modern Family" (7.51 rating) - No. 1, "Scandal" (5.76) - No. 4, "Grey's Anatomy" (4.82) - No. 6, "The Bachelor" (4.79) - No. 7, "HTGAWM" (4.45 - No. 1 new drama) - No. 9, "Once Upon A Time" (4.00) - No. 12 and "black-ish" (3.92 - No. 1 new comedy) - No. 13.

ABC Gains Overall Viewers and is the Only Net Up this Season in Adults 18-49: Season to date based on all programming, ABC is up 5% in Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 7.5 million) and 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7 vs. 2.1/6). In fact ABC is the only broadcaster up in Adults 18-49, as CBS is flat and NBC (-10%) and FOX (-19%) are each down double digits in the key young adult sales demo. The Net is up or even year to year on 4 nights of the week among Adults 18-49: Wednesday (+8%), Thursday (+19%), Friday (even) and Saturday (+10%).

Returning Shows Up and Programs Improving Time Periods: In Adults 18-49, ABC's "The Middle" (+4%), "The Goldbergs" (+17%), "Scandal" (+10%), "Last Man Standing" (+13%), "Saturday Night Football" (+12%) and "Once Upon A Time" (+3%) are each up over their performance at the same point last season. In addition, ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (+40%), "Marvel's Agent Carter" (+44%), "Forever" (+70%), "The Goldbergs" (+50%), "black-ish" (+36%), "Grey's" (+164%), "HTGAWM" (+19%), "Galavant" (+12%) and "Revenge" (+27%) are each improving their respective time periods with young adults.

Season's Highest-Rated TV Series: The Net delivers 5 of the Top 15 entertainment series on broadcast TV this season in Adults 18-49, claiming 3 of the Top 5 dramas: "Modern Family" (4.5 rating) - No. 4, "Scandal" (4.4 rating) - No. 5, "How to Get Away with Murder" (3.8 rating) - No. 9, "Grey's Anatomy" (3.7 rating) - No. 10 and "Once Upon A Time" (3.4 rating) - No. 12.

Gaining on Thursday in Viewers and Young Adults: Despite facing CBS' Thursday Night Football on the first 5 weeks of the season, ABC is up by double digits on the night versus the same point last year in Total Viewers (+22%) and Adults 18-49 (+19%), marking 5-year highs on both counts - since the 2009-10 season.

Up on Friday in Viewers for the 4th Straight Year to a 9-Year High: Building for the 4th straight year on Friday in Total Viewers (+4%) and holding steady in Adults 18-49, ABC is delivering its most-watched Friday overall in 9 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2005-06 season. The Net ranks No. 1 on the night with "Shark Tank" as Friday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49.

ABC's 2-Hour Comedy Block is Up to its Biggest-Ever Audience and a 3-Year High in AD18-49: On average, ABC's 2-hour Wednesday comedy block is growing year to year in viewers (+14%) and young adults (+14%), drawing its biggest audience ever and a 3-year high in Adults 18-49. The 8:00-10:00 p.m. block started with the 2009-10 season.

Source: The Nielsen Company, (National, Most Current Program Ratings), 09/22/14-04/05/15, or as dated. Upscale data based on regular non-sports programming with 2+ telecasts, 09/22/14-04/05/15.