ABC's SCANDAL Surges to Its Best Delivery Since Its February Mid-Season Return

ABC has won Thursday for 3-consecutive weeks in Live + 3 Day Adults 18-49 and been the top-rated entertainment network on the night for 7 weeks in a row. Last week (3/24/16), ABC moved up from finishing No. 3 on Thursday in L+SD to No. 1 in L+3 among Adults 18-49 (2.6 rating), beating runner-up FOX by 24% (2.1 rating). ABC claimed Thursday's Top 2 shows among young adults with "Grey's Anatomy" at No. 1 (3.3 rating) and SCANDAL at No. 2 (2.6 rating), moving ahead of CBS' NCAA BASKETBALL coverage (2.3 rating) and Fox's "American Idol" (2.1 rating).

Live + Same Day Results: ABC's Thursday Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 delivery was up week to week (+6% - 1.7/6 vs. 1.6/6) and the Net is poised to lead again in Live + 3 Day with the release of that data on Tuesday (4/5/16). ABC delivered Thursday's Top 2 dramas (8th week in a row) with "Grey's" and "Scandal" while "Grey's" also finished as the night's No. 2 TV show in Adults 18-49, behind only CBS' top-rated "The Big Bang Theory."

"Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 7.8 million and 2.2/8 in AD18-49):
Despite facing much stronger competition on CBS with an original "Big Bang" at 8:00 p.m., "Grey's" grew week to week in Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.2/8 vs. 2.1/8), hitting a 4-week high and matching its top rating since its mid-season February return - since 3/3/16 and 2/11/16, respectively. In addition, the 12th-season ABC drama was up by double-digits from the same night last year (4/2/15) in Total Viewers (+18%) and Adults 18-49 (+16%).

"Scandal" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 6.5 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49):
During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Scandal" surged week to week in Total Viewers (+7% - 6.5 million vs. 6.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+13% - 1.8/6 vs. 1.6/5) to its strongest performance since its mid-season return 7 weeks ago - since 2/11/16.

"The Catch" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.0 million and 1.0/4 in AD18-49):
At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "The Catch" (1.0/4) ran in a virtual tie with CBS' series debut of "Rush Hour" (1.1/4) and the season finale of NBC's "Shades of Blue" (1.1/4) in Adults 18-49. The new ABC drama came within 2-tenths of its week-ago series debut in Adults 18-49. Live + 3 for Last Week's Debut: Based on the L+3 data for last Thursday (3/24/16), "The Catch" premiere telecast added another 2.6 million viewers (5.846 million to 8.459 million) and surged 58% in Adults 18-49 (1.2 rating to 1.9 rating) over its L+SD numbers.

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 48% 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 03/31/16, unless otherwise specified.