ABC Takes 7 of Week's Top 20 Shows in Adults 18-49

the Top 20 broadcast programs in Adults 18-49, the most for any network, including 3 of the Top 5 dramas ("Scandal," "Grey's" and "Murder"): "Modern Family" - No. 9, "Scandal" - No. 10, "Saturday Night Football" - No. 13, "The Goldbergs" - No. 14, "Grey's Anatomy" and "How to Get Away with Murder" tied at No. 16 and "The Middle" - No. 19.

• ABC's "The Middle" (+5%) and "Last Man Standing" (+9%) emerged as the only two series (returning or new) this season to build on their premieres in Adults 18-49. In addition on Sunday, ABC's "Quantico" became one of only two new series to retain 100% of its series debut Adult 18-49 delivery.

• ABC was up from its week-earlier season premiere week in Adults 18-49 (+6%) to deliver its best in-season performance since April - since w/o 4/20/15.

• ABC's weekly Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 average is projected to increase 34% to a 2.4 rating in Live + 3 Day and build 42% to a 2.6 rating in Live + 7 Day.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m. - 11.0 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):

For the 2nd week in a row from 8:00-10:01 p.m., ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" dominated Fox's dramas ("Gotham"/"Minority Report") in the 2-hour time period in Total Viewers (+206% - 11.0 million vs. 3.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+23% - 1.6/5 vs. 1.3/4).

• For the 3rd-straight week, "Dancing" was the most social broadcast program of the evening (85,701 tweets).

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m. - 6.7 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m. against "The Voice"-led debut of "The Blindspot," ABC's "Castle" outperformed CBS' "NCIS: LA" in Women 18-49 (+14% - 1.6/5 vs. 1.4/4) and Women 25-54 (+16% - 2.2/6 vs/ 1.9/5).

• New Season Live + 3 Day Ratings: Last Monday's season opener of "Castle" shot up +58% over its L+SD Adult 18-49 rating for its biggest-ever premiere lift, making it Monday's top percentage gainer in TV playback on the major networks.

"The Muppets" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 5.8 million and 2.0/7 in AD18-49):

Self-starting at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Muppets" once again ranked as Tuesday's No. 1 new TV show in Adults 18-49 (2.0/7), leading Fox's comedy debuts of "Grandfathered" (+33% - 1.5/5) and "The Grinder" (+33% - 1.5/5) and week 2 of Fox's "Scream Queens" (+43% - 1.4/5) and CBS' "Limitless" (+5% - 1.9/6). In the half-hour, "The Muppets" beat Fox's "Grandfathered" debut across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), leading by a strong 33% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/7 vs. 1.5/5).

• "The Muppets" was up 82% in Adults 18-49 from the 2nd telecast of "Selfie" in the half-hour last year (1.1/4 in Adults 18-49 on 10/7/14).

"Fresh Off the Boat" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 4.7 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49):

At 8:30 p.m., ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat" retained nearly all of its week-ago season premiere in Adults 18-49 (89%) and beat Fox's highly promoted debut of "The Grinder" by 13% (1.7/6 vs. 1.5/5). It also led the FOX comedy in Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Women 18-34. "Fresh Off the Boat" held 100% of its week-ago premiere in Adults 18-34 while growing in Men 18-34 (+22%) and Men 18-49 (+6%). In both Men demos, the ABC sophomore comedy hit Tuesday highs.

• "Fresh Off the Boat" grew 89% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago 2nd telecast of "Manhattan Love Story" in the half-hour (0.9/3 on 10/7/14).

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 4.9 million and 1.7/5 in AD18-49):

At 9:00 p.m., the season premiere of ABC's "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." tied CBS' "NCIS: New Orleans" in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5) and will move ahead once playback is included. In addition, "S.H.I.E.L.D." beat Fox's "Scream Queens" head-to-head by 21% among Adults 18-49 (1.4/5). "S.H.I.E.L.D." topped "NCIS: New Orleans" and "Scream Queens" as the No. 1 scripted program in the hour with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

• "S.H.I.E.L.D." spiked over its May finale (on 5/12/15) in Total Viewers (+23% - 4.8 million vs. 3.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+31% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.3/4), marking its best results since its December winter finale on 12/9/14.

"Quantico-R" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.2 million and 1.0/3 in AD18-49):

In the 10 o'clock hour, a repeat of the "Quantico" debut episode from Sunday garnered extra sampling on Tuesday, drawing an additional 4.2 million Total Viewers. The new ABC drama held steady from its first half-hour to its second among young adults while its CBS (-5%) and NBC (-24%) competition declined on the half-hour.

Opposite competition from the big return for Fox's "Empire," CBS' season premiere of "Survivor" and After Fox's "Empire," ABC delivered 3 of the Top 4 next-highest-rated TV shows on Wednesday with "Modern Family" (3.0/9), "The Goldbergs" (2.4/8 - tied with "Survivor") and "The Middle" (2.2/8). "Modern Family" significantly narrowed the Adult 18-49 gap with "Empire," cutting it by a whole rating point week to week (-2.5 points vs -3.5 points). From 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's Wednesday comedy block took 2nd in Adults 18-49 (2.3/8) to Fox's lineup ("Rosewood"/"Empire"), beating CBS (2.2/7) and NBC (1.5/5).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 7.9 million and 2.2/8 in AD18-49):

Defying ratings gravity at 8:00 p.m., "The Middle" was up from its strong week-ago premiere in Adults 18-49 (+5% - 2.2/8 vs. 2.1/8) to match its best rating since the beginning of January - since 1/7/15. In fact, "The Middle" became the season's first scripted series (returning or new) to build on its premiere in L+SD Adults 18-49. The ABC comedy was up from its year-ago telecast in viewers (+11%) and young adults (+16%).

"The Goldbergs" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 7.4 million and 2.4/8 in AD18-49):

Building on its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+9%) at 8:30 p.m., ABC's "The Goldbergs" held 100% of its week-ago premiere rating (2.4/8) to tie its best number since March - since 3/4/15. In addition, the show retained 100% in Adults 18-34 and grew 13% on its opener with Women 18-34 to match 1-year highs - since 9/24/14. Like its lead-in, "The Goldbergs" topped its year-ago telecast in Total Viewers (+10%) and Adults 18-49 (+9%).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m. - 8.7 million and 3.0/9 in AD18-49):

Surging from its lead-in against the first half-hour of Fox's "Empire" at 9:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (+25%), ABC's "Modern Family" ran a strong No. 2 in its half-hour across all key demographics. The show held 94% of its week-ago Adult 18-49 delivery and gained on its premiere in Women 18-34 (+4%) to earn its highest rating since March - since 3/4/15.

"black-ish" (9:31-10:00 p.m. - 5.9 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49):

In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "black-ish" beat the second half-hour of CBS' "Criminal Minds" premiere in Men 18-34 (+13% - 0.9/4 vs. 0.8/3) and the second half-hour of NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" in Adults 25-54 (+14% - 2.4/6 vs. 2.1/5).

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.7 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):

Despite facing debut/premiere competition at 10:00 p.m. on CBS ("Code Black") and NBC ("Chicago P.D."), ABC's "Nashville" held steady its week-earlier opener in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4 vs. 1.2/4) and Adults 25-54 (1.5/4). Against the CBS and NBC drama premieres, ABC's younger skewing "Nashville" ranked No. 2 in the hour with Women 18-34 (tie) and No. 1 with Teens 12-17.

• Season Premiere Playback: In the Live + 3 Day ratings, the heavily DVR'd premiere of "Nashville" spiked 75% over its L+SD rating, growing to a 2.1 rating. In fact, it was the biggest-ever premiere lift for the show.

Opposite an even stronger Thursday Night Football game on CBS (Baltimore-Pittsburgh), ABC (8.4 million and 2.5/8) was Thursday's definitive No. 1 non-sports net for the 2nd week in a row, beating runner-up NBC with "The Blacklist" opener (5.8 million and 1.5/5) by 45% in Total Viewers and by 67% in Adults 18-49, 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 ranked No. 1 on Thursday in Women 18-34, tying CBS' NFL coverage, 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" (2.3/8). Please Note: ABC's Thursday dramas registered Live +3 Day lifts of 1.3-1.5 rating points last week.

• ABC's TGIT also generated the most social entertainment telecasts of the evening: "Grey's" (107,768 tweets), "Scandal" (199,062 tweets), and "HTGAWM" (132,273 tweets).

"Grey's Anatomy" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 8.6 million and 2.3/8 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" continued to dominate NBC's "Heroes Reborn" in Total Viewers (+72% - 8.6 million vs. 5.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (+44% - 2.3/8 vs. 1.6/6) while also crushing Fox's "Bones" premiere in the hour (6.2 million and 1.4/5) in Total Viewers (+39%) and Adults 18-49 (+64%).

"Scandal" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 9.1 million and 2.8/9 in AD18-49):

Building on its lead-in at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Scandal" beat the Thursday opener of "The Blacklist" by an even larger margin of 56% this season in Adults 18-49 (2.8/9 vs. 1.8/6), up from a 33% advantage during their first head-to-head matchup in February. "Scandal" also outdrew "The Blacklist" premiere by 1.3 million viewers (9.1 million vs. 7.8 million), after trailing last February's premiere. Also in the hour, the ABC drama held strong triple-digit advantages over Fox's "Sleepy Hollow" premiere (3.5 million and 1.0/3) in Total Viewers (+160%) and Adults 18-49 (+180%). "Scandal" gained audience on the half-hour while both "The Blacklist" and "Sleepy Hollow" declined.

"How to Get Away with Murder" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 7.5 million and 2.3/8 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" more than doubled its NBC drama competition, beating week 2 of "The Player" by an increasing margin of 130% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/8 vs. 1.0/3), versus a 117% advantage in their week-ago premieres. "Murder" also beat "The Player" by 63% in Total Viewers (7.5 million vs. 4.6 million).

ABC won its 2nd-straight Friday in Adults 18-49, outdelivering runner-up CBS by 17% (1.4/5 vs. 1.2/5). ABC's "Shark Tank" (1.7/6) and the series debut of "Dr. Ken" (1.5/6) ranked as Friday's Top 2 TV shows in the key young adult sales demo. ABC was up 8% week to week in Adults 18-49.

"Last Man Standing" (8:00-8:31 p.m. - 6.5 million and 1.2/5 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m., "Last Man Standing" was the most watched TV show overall for the 2nd-consecutive week in its slot (6.5 million). "Last Man Standing" was up from its week-ago premiere by 3% in Total Viewers (6.5 million vs. 6.3 million) and 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/5 vs. 1.1/5). In doing so, "LMS" became just the 2nd scripted TV show this season (returning or new) to build on its season premiere in Adults 18-49, joining only ABC's "The Middle," which was up on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. from its week-earlier opener.

• In Live + 3, last week's season opener of "Last Man Standing" jumped +55% in Adults 18-49 over its L+SD number, delivering its best-ever L+3 premiere lift.

"Dr. Ken" (8:31-9:00 p.m. - 6.7 million and 1.5/6 in AD18-49):

Spiking 25% over its lead-in at 8:30 p.m., "Dr. Ken" debuted at No. 1 in its half-hour in Adults 18-49 (1.5/6) and as Friday's No. 1 scripted TV show. "Dr. Ken" delivered the biggest-ever build on an original "Last Man Standing" in the 3 years it has aired on Friday night. In addition, "Dr. Ken" was up 15% from the Net's year-ago comedy debut in the slot ("Cristela" on 10/10/14 = 1.3/5) and equaled ABC's highest Adult 18-49 number with scripted programming in the half-hour in nearly 3 years - since 11/9/12.

• "Dr. Ken" also built on its "LMS" lead-in with Total Viewers (6.7 million vs. 6.5 million) to rank as the most watched TV show overall in its slot. And despite debuting on Friday with lower overall TV usage, "Dr. Ken" opened with over 1 million more viewers than this past Tuesday's debuts of both Fox's "Grandfathered" (5.3 million) and "The Grinder" (5.0 million) in the 8:00 p.m. hour while tying both FOX comedies in Adults 18-49 (1.5/6).

• Among Adults 18-49, "Dr. Ken" ranked as TV's highest-rated Friday scripted telecast since February and the top-rated in Friday's 8:00 p.m. hour since January - since "Blue Bloods" on 2/20/15 and "LMS" on 1/9/15.

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:01 p.m. - 6.8 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49):

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Shark Tank" built on its lead-in (+13%) and towered over its nearest competition by 55% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 vs.1.1/4 for CBS' "Hawaii Five-0").

• "Shark Tank" held 100% of its week-ago premiere rating with Adults 18-49 (1.7/6) while growing 11% in Total Viewers (6.8 million vs. 6.1 million).

"20/20" (10:01-11pm - 4.4 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49):

ABC's "20/20" tied NBC's 2-hour "Dateline" to rank as the night's No. 1 newsmagazine, holding the top position for the 2nd week in a row with Adults 18-49 (1.1/4).

With COLLEGE FOOTBALL coverage (Notre Dame at Clemson), ABC dominated Saturday night in Total Viewers (7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/9), beating the other major networks combined (CBS, NBC, and FOX = 1.9/6) by 32% among young adults. ABC towered over FOX with its college-football coverage (2.1 million and 0.6/2) by 5.5 million viewers and by 317% among young adults.

• Airing from 8:07-11:53 p.m., "Saturday Night Football" was easily the No. 1 TV show of the evening with Total Viewers (7.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/9).

• ABC's college-football game shot up over the prior week (2.4 million and 0.7/3) by triple digits in viewers (+217%) and young adults (+257%) to match its highest-rated game in 4 weeks in the latter measure - since 9/5/15.

• "Saturday Night Football" was up year over year (4.4 million and 1.3/5 on 10/4/14) by 72% in Total Viewers and 92% in Adults 18-49.

Against a high-rated SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL game on NBC and an NFL-overrun boosted Fox, ABC out-delivered CBS on Sunday with its drama season premieres in Adults 18-49 (+8% - 1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4 - including a regional overrun). The Net was steady with its week-earlier season premiere delivery on the night.

• Surging from its lead-in for the 2nd week in a row at 10:00 p.m. (+46%), ABC's "Quantico" (1.9/6) was Sunday's No. 1 broadcast drama in Adults 18-49 and "Once Upon a Time" (1.8/5) was just behind at No. 2, ahead of all three CBS drama premieres on the night with "Madam Secretary" (1.4/4), "The Good Wife" (1.2/3) and "CSI: Cyber" (1.0/3). "Quantico" and "Once Upon a Time" each held 100% of their week-ago premieres in Adults 18-49, as ABC's "Quantico" joined CBS' "Limitless" as the only 2 new series to hold so far.

• Among premiere week's biggest playback gainers, "Quantico's" week-ago premiere shot up by +4.0 million Total Viewers and +1.2 rating points (+63%) among Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+3 Day. In fact, ABC claimed last Sunday's Top 2 playback gainers among Adults 18-49, with "Quantico" (+1.2 rating points) and the opener of "Once Upon a Time" (+0.9 rating points).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 5.4 million and 1.8/5 in AD18-49):

Jumping 125% from its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (repeat of Tuesday's "The Muppets") opposite the beginning of SNF and Fox's NFL-fueled comedies, ABC's "Once Upon a Time" beat CBS' season premiere of "Madam Secretary" in the hour by 29% (1.8/6 vs. 1.4/4).

• The ABC drama held even with its week-ago premiere to tie its top Adult 18-49 rating since March - since 3/22/15. In addition, "OUAT" was up week to week for its best results since March with key Women: W18-49 (+9%) and W25-54 (+8%).

"Blood & Oil" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 5.3 million and 1.3/3 in AD18-49):

At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Blood & Oil" beat CBS' season opener of "The Good Wife" in Adults 18-49 (+8% - 1.3/3 vs. 1.2/3) and Adults 18-34 (+14%). "Blood & Oil" retained a solid 93% of its week-ago debut rating with Adults 18-49 and held 100% among Adults 18-34.

"Quantico" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 7.0 million and 1.9/6 in AD18-49):

At 10:00 p.m., ABC's "Quantico" jumped 46% over its lead-in and beat CBS' "CSI: Cyber" premiere by 90% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.0/3). "Quantico" remained steady with last week's debut to equal ABC's best young-adult number with a series in the hour since September 2012 - since 9/30/12. The new ABC drama actually built on its week-ago debut in Adults 18-34 (+15%) and Women 18-34 (+35%).

• "Quantico" spiked more than 40% from ABC's year-ago delivery of "Revenge" in the hour (4.9 million and 1.3/4 on 10/5/14) in Total Viewers (+41%) and Adults 18-49 (+46%).

WEEK NO. 02: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS

No.1 NBC 2.7 No.1 CBS 10,330,000

No.2 CBS 2.1 No.2 NBC 9,300,000

No.3 ABC 1.8 No.3 ABC 6,780,000

No.3 FOX 1.8 No.4 FOX 5,340,000

No.5 CW 0.3 No.5 CW 1,020,000

Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 09/28/15.