ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND Beats NBC's Comedies

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 7.5 million and 2.4/7 in AD18-49):

Opposite Game 5 of the ALCS playoffs, ABC earned second place on Thursday, beating Fox's baseball coverage by 4% (2.3/7) and doubling NBC on the night (+100% - 1.2/3). ABC's "Scandal" was up 6% week to week (2nd-highest-ever number) and up 74% year to year, to stand as the week's No. 1 10:00 p.m. drama (also tracking as the week's No. 1 broadcast drama overall) and as the No. 2 TV show on Thursday for the 3rd week running (behind only "The Big Bang Theory").

ABC was up over the year-ago Thursday for the 3rd week in a row in Adults 18-49 (+4% - 2.3/7 on 10/18/12).

"Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 4.5 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):
During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" beat NBC's comedies for the 2nd week in a row ("Parks and Recreation"/"Welcome to the Family" = 2.8 million and 1.1/3) in Total Viewers (+1.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+9%). The freshman ABC 8:00 p.m. drama essentially matched the delivery of NBC's veteran drama "Parenthood" on the night (1.2/4 vs. 1.3/4).

Based on Live + 3 Day for its series debut, "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" saw its Adult 18-49 number build 35% to a 2.3 rating (+0.6 rating points) and also saw its Total Viewer count grow by 1.5 million to 7.3 million viewers.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 8.6 million and 2.6/7 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" ranked No. 1 in Adults 18-49, beating Fox's MLB playoff coverage by 13% (2.3/6), CBS' comedies by 13% ("The Crazy Ones"/"Two and a Half Men" = 2.3/6) and once again more than doubled NBC's comedies (+117% over "Sean Saves the World"/"The Michael J FOX Show" = 1.2/3).

"Grey's" delivered strong week to week retention in viewers (98%) and young adults (93%).

"Scandal" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 9.5 million and 3.3/9 in AD18-49):
Building on its "Grey's" lead-in for the 3rd week in a row in Adult 18-49 (by a best-ever +27%), ABC's "Scandal" beat its combined drama competition by 14% on CBS ("Elementary" = 1.6/4) and NBC ("Parenthood" = 1.3/4) during the 10:00 p.m. hour. It also ranked No. 1 in the slot with Total Viewers.

"Scandal" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults18-49 (+6%) to deliver the series' 2nd-best-ever numbers, behind only its 3rd season premiere two weeks ago.

On average in Adults 18-49, "Scandal" is up 65% over its first three telecasts last year (3.3/9 vs. 2.0/6) making the ABC drama the fastest growing returning series this season.

Social Stats: All 3 of ABC's Thursday dramas ranked among the top 5 most social broadcast series of the evening, led by "Scandal" (No. 1 - 283,626 tweets), "Grey's" (No. 3 - 36,515 tweets) and "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland" (No. 5 - 11,342 tweets). Currently, "Scandal" ranks as ABC's most-social series to date with over 2 million tweets.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 48% currently, from 46% at the same point in 2012. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 10/17/13.

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