ABC's CASTLE Posts First-Ever Total Viewer Victory Over NBC's 'Blindspot'

During the week of March 21, 2016, ABC delivered 7 of the Top 15 broadcast entertainment TV series in Adults 18-49, including the Top 4 comedies for the 2nd week running (Wednesday block): "Modern Family" - No. 3, "Grey's Anatomy" - No. 5, "The Goldbergs" - No. 7, "black-ish" - No. 9, "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 13 and "The Middle" - No. 15.

Monday: With the season 22 premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" and "Castle," ABC was the most watched TV network on Monday (10.5 million) and took second place in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5). The Net marked its most watched Monday since November - since 11/23/15.

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was Monday's most watched TV show (12.5 million) and ranked No. 2 for the night in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), behind only NBC's "The Voice."

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m. - 12.5 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49): From 8:00-10:01 p.m., ABC's 22nd season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" outdrew NBC's "The Voice" to lead the 2-hour slot by 1.3 million viewers (12.5 million vs. 11.2 million) and earned second with young adults (1.8/6). Against the "Dancing" premiere, "The Voice" fell to a season low (2.8/9). In fact, "Dancing" closed the Adult 18-49 gap year to year with "The Voice" by three-tenths of a rating point (-1.0 vs. -1.3 on the same night last year) for its most competitive finish ever for a spring premiere against the NBC unscripted show.

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 6.5 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):
During the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Castle" returned from the prior week's preemption with a 14% jump in Total Viewers (6.5 million vs. 5.7 million) and even with Adults 18-49 (1.1/4), delivering its biggest audience in 4 months - since 11/23/15. ABC's "Castle" outdrew NBC's "Blindspot" for the first time ever in the hour in Total Viewers (+10% - 6.5 million vs. 5.9 million).

• Live + 3 for Most Recent Telecast: On its most recent telecast (3/7/16), "Castle" jumped up to a 1.8 rating among Adults 18-49 in the L+3 numbers (from a 1.1 in L+SD), up for the 3rd-straight week (+6%) to its highest-rated L+3 telecast since mid-November - since 11/16/15.

Tuesday
"Fresh Off the Boat" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 4.6 million and 1.2/5 in AD18-49):
At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat" was up week to week (+12%/+9%) and defeated Fox's "New Girl" by best-yet margins of 2.4 million viewers (4.6 million vs. 2.2 million) and 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/5 vs. 1.0/4) to rank as the No. 1 Tuesday comedy for the 3rd week in row. In fact "Fresh Off the Boat" has been the most watched Tuesday night comedy on every original telecast so far in 2016.

"The Real O'Neals" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 3.7 million and 1.0/4 in AD18-49):
Continuing to deliver strong retention at 8:30 p.m. with young adults (83%), "The Real O'Neals" was up in Total Viewers (+6% - 3.7 million vs. 3.5 million) and even week to week with Adults 18-49 (1.0/4). In addition, the new ABC comedy spiked over the prior week by 60% in Teens 12-17 and by 50% with Kids 2-11 to deliver its best numbers on the night.

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 2.9 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
Opposite the debut of NBC's "The Voice"-led "Heartbeat" and an original of CBS' "NCIS: NO" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." held even week to week in Total Viewers (2.9 million) and was steady in Adults 18-49 (0.9/3 vs. 1.0/3). The ABC drama beat NBC's drama debut in the hour by 20% in Men 18-34.

L+3 Playback for Last Week: "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." jumped +60% over its L+SD Adult 18-49 rating (from a 1.0 to a 1.6 in L+3).

"Beyond the Tank" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 2.2 million and 0.6/2 in AD18-49):
In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Beyond the Tank" improved its time period week to week by 20% in Adults 18-49 (0.6/2 vs. 0.5/2).

Wednesday
ABC ran a strong second on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49 (1.6/6) to CBS while beating all-original lineups on NBC (including the time-period premiere of "Heartbeat") by 23% (1.3/4) and FOX by 45% (1.1/4).

• For its 7th-consecutive first-run telecast, ABC's "Modern Family" was Wednesday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (2.4/8).

"The Middle"/"The Goldbergs" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 7.0 million and 1.9/7 in AD18-49):
From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" and "The Goldbergs" ranked a strong second in the hour among Adults 18-49 (1.9/7) to CBS' "Survivor" and dominated their scripted competition in the hour on FOX by 90% ("Rosewood" = 1.0/4) and on NBC by 111% ("Heartbeat" = 0.9/3).

• Both "The Middle" (1.7/7) and "The Goldbergs" (2.0/7) were even with the prior week in Adults 18-49.

"Modern Family"/"black-ish" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 6.9 million and 2.2/7 in AD18-49):
ABC moved up to rank No. 1 in the 9:00 p.m. hour in Adults 18-49 (2.2/7-tie) with "Modern Family" and "black-ish."

• "Modern Family" held steady week to week in Adults 18-49 (2.4/8 vs. 2.5/9), and "black-ish" was even (1.9/6) to match a 2-month high - since 1/6/16.

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.1 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Nashville" held even with its mid-season return the prior week among Adults 18-49 (0.9/3) while growing in Adults 18-34 (+20%) and Women 18-34 (+14%). L+3 Playback for Last Week's Return: "Nashville" was last Wednesday's No. 1 gainer in TV playback on the broadcast networks in Adults 18-49, spiking +67% over its L+SD rating after 3 days of playback (growing from a 0.9 to a 1.5 in L+3).

Thursday
In the L+3 ratings, ABC won Thursday for the 3rd-straight week with Adults 18-49 and was the night's top entertainment network for the 7th-consecutive week. Spiking +1.0 rating point after 3 days of TV playback, ABC moved up from the No. 3 broadcast network on Thursday in L+SD to No. 1 in L+3 among Adults 18-49 (2.6 rating), beating FOX by 24% (2.1 rating) and CBS by 37% (1.9 rating). ABC claimed the night's Top 2 shows among young adults, with "Grey's Anatomy" (3.3 rating) emerging as No. 1 and "Scandal" (2.6 rating) ranking No. 2, ahead of CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL game (2.3 rating) and Fox's "American Idol" (2.1 rating).

Live + Same Day Results:

"Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 7.9 million and 2.1/8 in AD18-49):
ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" ranked as Thursday's No. 1 series for the 2nd week running in Adults 18-49 (2.1/8). Head-to-head from 8:00-9:00 p.m., the ABC drama beat CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL coverage in the hour by 17% among young adults (2.1/8 vs. 1.8/7).

• Despite the stronger competition on CBS, "Grey's" was even week to week in Total Viewers (7.9 million vs. 7.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/8), attracting its biggest overall audience since its mid-season return 6 weeks ago - since 2/11/16.

"Scandal" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 6.1 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):
Opposite increased competition from CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL game, ABC's "Scandal" was even with the prior week among Adults 18-49 (1.6/5) and up 9% in Adults 18-34.

"The Catch" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.8 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):
At 10:00 p.m., the debut of ABC's "The Catch" grew over the week-ago season finale of "How to Get Away with Murder" in Total Viewers (+9% - 5.8 million vs. 5.3 million) to draw the Net's largest audience in the hour in 6 weeks - since 2/11/16.

• ABC's new drama dominated its freshman drama competition in the hour on NBC ("Shades of Blue") by 14% in Total Viewers (5.8 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/4).

Sunday
Please Note: On Easter Sunday, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage was down a significant -7% week to week during primetime (29.7 vs. 31.8). ABC's Sunday programming on the holiday will be coded as "specials" with Nielsen and excluded from the season averages.

"Once Upon a Time"-SP (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 3.5 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):
Building 25% on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Once Upon a Time" ranked as the No. 2 series in its hour with Adults 18-49 (1.0/3-tie) to NBC's "Little Big Shots." "Once Upon a Time" held even week to week in Total Viewers (3.5 million) and despite the drop in young adult viewing levels was steady in Adults 18-49 (1.0/3 vs. 1.1/3).

"The Family"-SP (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 2.6 million and 0.6/2 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "The Family" held even week to week in Total Viewers (2.6 million) and held steady with Adults 18-49 (0.6/2 vs. 0.7/2).

Live + 3 Day Ratings for Last Week: ABC's "The Family" was last Sunday's 2nd-biggest broadcast gainer in playback, behind only "Quantico," surging by a best-yet +71% from L+SD to L+3 among young adults (from a 0.7 to a 1.2 rating).

"Quantico"-SP (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 3.4 million and 0.9/3 in AD18-49):
Shooting up 50% from its lead-in at 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Quantico" once again ranked No. 1 in the hour among Adults 18-49 (0.9/3) over CBS' "Elementary" (0.8/2) and NBC's "Hollywood Game Night" (0.7/2). The ABC freshman drama held steady week to week with Adults 18-49 (0.9/3 vs. 1.0/3).

Live + 3 Day Ratings for Last Week: ABC's "Quantico" nearly doubled its L+SD Adult 18-49 rating last Sunday (1.0 to a 1.9 rating), spiking +90% after 3 days of TV playback.

WEEK NO. 27: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 CBS 1.8 No.1 CBS 8,350,000
No.2 NBC 1.2 No.2 ABC 5,570,000
No.3 ABC 1.1 No.3 NBC 5,560,000
No.4 FOX 0.8 No.4 FOX 3,050,000
No.5 CW 0.4 No.5 CW 1,260,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 03/21/16.

Image courtesy of ABC