ABC's SCANDAL Closes Gap Week-to-Week with Fox's 'Empire'

ABC Thursday Prime (8-11pm - 8.4 million and 2.5/8 in AD18-49): Opposite an even stronger Thursday Night Football game on CBS (Baltimore-Pittsburgh), ABC (8.4 million and 2.5/8) was Thursday's definitive #1 non-sports net for the 2nd week in a row, beating runner-up NBC with THE BLACKLIST opener (5.7 million and 1.4/5) by 47% in Total Viewers and by 79% in Adults 18-49 (up from a 71% advantage last week), while more than doubling Fox's season premiere line-up of Bones and SLEEPY HOLLOW (4.8 million and 1.2/4) in Adults 18-49 (+108%).

ABC once again won Thursday over CBS' NFL coverage across key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and will significantly narrow the Adult 18-49 gap with CBS on the night in Live + 7 Day ratings. With each of its TGIT dramas holding strong week to week against heightened competition, the Net retained 86% of its big week-ago season premiere rating on the night in Adults 18-49 (2.5/8 vs. 2.9/10).

For the 2nd week running, ABC's TGIT lineup delivered the Top 3 entertainment shows of the night in Adults 18-49 with GREY'S ANATOMY (2.3/8), SCANDAL (2.8/9) and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (2.3/7). Please Note: All three ABC Thursday dramas registered Live +3 Day lifts between 1.3-1.5 rating points last week.

Scandal is once again tracking as the week's 2nd-highest-rated drama in Adults 18-49, closing the gap week to week with Fox's EMPIRE (-2.7 vs. -3.4). In addition at 9pm, SCANDAL beat the opener of THE BLACKLIST by an even larger margin of 56% this year in Adults18-49 (2.8/9 vs. 1.8/5), up from a 33% advantage during their first head-to-head matchup in February. SCANDAL also beat THE BLACKLIST premiere by 1.5 million viewers this year (9.1 million vs. 7.6 million), after trailing last February's premiere.

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