NBC's THE BLACKLIST Delivers Its Closest 18-49 Finish Yet to ABC's 'Scandal'

"The Blacklist" (1.6/5 in 18-49, 7.5 million viewers overall from 9-10:01 p.m. ET) delivered its closest finish to date versus "Scandal" in adults 18-49, rating within 0.5 of a point of the ABC drama (1.6 vs. 2.1). "Scandal's" average margin since "Blacklist" moved to Thursdays has been 1.0 heading into last night. In total viewers, "Blacklist" outdelivered "Scandal" for a third-straight week (7.5 million vs. 7.2 million).

Last night's "Blacklist" maintained 100% of its 1.6 rating from last week in 18-49.

"The Blacklist" has improved the slot by +169% vs. NBC's earlier non-sports slot average in L+3 18-49 heading into last night (see details at bottom of e-mail).

"The Blacklist" will increase substantially in L+3: Last week's "Blacklist" grew by +78% in L+3 vs. L+SD in 18-49 rating (1.59 to 2.83) and in total viewers by 4.1 million persons (8.1 million to 12.3 million), the biggest increase of the night on the Big 4.

Upscale: "The Blacklist" has been a strong upscale performer, delivering a 140 index of adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes ("most current" including L+3, with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes).

"Dateline NBC" (1.3/5 in 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) matched the network's highest 18-49 rating in the slot since Dec. 4 ("Peter Pan Live!").

"Dateline NBC" scored as the network's most-watched hour of regularly scheduled programing in the Thursday 8-9 p.m. time period in six and a half years (since "My Name is Earl" and the premiere of "Kath & Kim," Oct. 9, 2008, 7.4 million).

"Dateline NBC" is up +30% week to week in 18-49 (1.3 vs. 1.0) and up +5% in total viewers (6.516 million vs. 6.218 million).

L+3: The previous week's "Dateline" increased in L+3 vs. L+SD by +16% in 18-49 rating (1.02 to 1.18) and in total viewers by 459,000 persons (6.2 million to 6.7 million).

"The Slap" (0.7/2 in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) is currently maintaining 100% of last week's 18-49 rating and is up +3% in total viewers (3.323 million vs. 3.215 million), pending updates.

Upscale: "The Slap" has been a solid upscale attraction, delivering a 115 index of adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes ("most current" including L+3, with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes).

"The Slap" will increase significantly in L+3 - The previous week's "Slap" grew by +46% in L+3 vs. L+SD in 18-49 rating (0.67 to 0.98) and in total viewers by 1.0 million persons (3.2 million to 4.2 million).

Note that "The Blacklist" has lifted NBC's Thursday. In L+3 averages heading into this week:

"Blacklist" has improved the Thursday 9 p.m. hour by +169% in 18-49 (3.20 vs. a prior average of 1.19, L+3 excluding sports) and by 8.6 million viewers overall (12.8 million vs. 4.2 million).

NBC's Thursday overall has improved by +17% since the "Blacklist" move in 18-49 (1.84 vs. 1.57, L+3 non-sports) and more than 2.6 million viewers overall (5.2 million vs. 7.8 million).

Projected "Live Plus Three Day," "Live Plus Seven Day" and "L+7 Plus Digital" Results:

Adult 18-49 Rating
Show... L+SD... L+3...L+7...L+7+Digital
The Blacklist...1.6...2.9...3.2...3.5
The Slap...0.7...1.0...1.1...1.2

Persons 2+ (Total Viewers)
Show... L+SD... L+3...L+7...L+7+Digital
The Blacklist...7.54 million...11.87 million...12.83 million ...13.64 million
The Slap...3.32 million...4.36 million ...4.55 million ...4.81 million

In Late-Night Metered Markets Thursday Night:

· In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 3.0/8; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/6; and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 2.0/5.

· In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," 1.2/6; "Late Show," 0.4/2; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.6/3.

· From 12:35-1:05 a.m. ET, ABC's "Nightline" averaged a 1.2/4 in metered-market households and a 0.4/2 in 18-49 in the Local People Meters.

· From 12:35-1:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Seth Meyers" (1.3/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with James Corden " (1.1/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/4 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show with James Corden" (0.2/1).

· At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.7/3 in metered-market households and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

NOTE: Primetime results are based on "fast affiliate time period" data from Nielsen Media Research. All ratings are "live plus same day" unless otherwise indicated.

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