ABC's DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Debuts a Dominant No. 1 in Wednesday Time Slot

ABC earned 2nd place on premiere Wednesday in Total Viewers (8.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/8) to an "Empire"-led Fox, beating CBS ("Survivor" premiere/"Big Brother" Finale = 7.8 million and 2.1/8) and NBC ("Blindspot"/"L&O: SVU"/"Chicago PD" = 6.9 million and 1.6/6). ABC's "Designated Survivor" was Wednesday's No. 2 TV show in Total Viewers (10.0 million), and "Modern Family" was Wednesday's No. 2 TV show in Adults 18-49 (2.6/9), trailing only Fox's "Empire." Each of ABC's returning Wednesday comedies were up from their May finales in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

The only net to grow year to year, ABC's season premiere Wednesday was up (7.1 million and 2.1/7 on 9/23/15) in Total Viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%), marking its most watched season premiere Wednesday in 3 years - since 9/25/13.

"The Goldbergs" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 6.8 million and 2.0/8 in AD18-49): Despite shifting back one half-hour into the 8:00 p.m. LEAD OFF slot, ABC's "The Goldbergs" was up from its May finale (6.4 million and 1.9/7 on 5/18/16) by 6% in viewers and 5% in Adults 18-49 to earn its best numbers since March - since 3/2/16 and 3/23/16, respectively. The ABC comedy took second place in its new half-hour with young adults.

"Speechless" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 7.3 million and 2.0/7 in AD18-49): Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. in viewers (+7%) and holding 100% in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Speechless" debut topped the Net's most recent series premiere in THE HALF HOUR ("The Real O'Neals" on 3/2/16 = 6.3 million and 1.8/6) by 1.0 million viewers and 11% in Adults 18-49. In addition, the new comedy attracted ABC's biggest scripted audience to the time period in 1-year and its top Adult 18-49 rating since March - since 9/30/15 and 3/23/16.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m. - 8.2 million and 2.6/9 in AD18-49): Spiking over its lead-in against the first half-hour of Fox's "Empire" premiere at 9:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (+30%), ABC's "Modern Family" surged from its May finale (6.8 million and 2.1/7 on 5/18/16) in Total Viewers (+21%) and Adults 18-49 (+24%) to draw its best results since the start of March - since 3/2/16.

"black-ish" (9:30-10:00 p.m. - 6.4 million and 2.0/6 in AD18-49): Like its lead-in at 9:30 p.m., ABC's "black-ish" spiked over its May finale (5.1 million and 1.5/5 on 5/18/16) in Total Viewers (+25%) and Adults 18-49 (+33%), marking its most watched telecast in 1 year and its top young adult number since January - since 9/23/15 and 1/6/16. In fact with Adults 18-49, "black-ish" topped every telecast last season except two, the season opener on 9/23/15 and its 1/6/16 telecast.

"Designated Survivor" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 10.0 million and 2.3/8 in AD18-49): The series debut of ABC's "Designated Survivor" built on its lead-in to open a dominant No. 1 in Wednesday's 10:00 p.m. hour with viewers and key adults. It was the first new show this season to build on its lead-in with young adults. The new ABC drama took full control over its drama competition in the slot, beating NBC's season premiere of "Chicago PD" by 3.1 million viewers (10.0 million vs. 6.9 million), by 44% in Adults 18-49 (2.3/8 vs. 1.6/5) and by 50% in Adults 25-54 (3.0/9 vs. 2.0/6). Despite its 10:00 p.m. time period with declining overall TV usage levels, "Designated Survivor" held steady from its first half-hour to second half-hour.

"Designated Survivor" was the No. 1 debut of the night, outdelivering Fox's premiere of "Lethal Weapon" leading into "Empire" (7.8 million and 2.2/8 at 8:00 p.m.).

More than doubling its time period from the year-ago premiere of "Nashville" (4.9 million and 1.2/4 on 9/23/15) in Total Viewers (+104%) and nearly doubling in Adults 18-49 (+92%), "Designated Survivor" scored the Net's strongest scripted telecast in the hour in 5 years with viewers and in 4 years with Adults 18-49 - since 9/21/11 and 10/10/12, respectively.

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 49% 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 9/21/16.

Photo credit: ABC/ Ben Mark Holzberg

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