ABC's "Scandal" Builds on its Week-Ago Debut and Wins the 10pm Hour

Some early info on ABC's Thursday, ahead of the regular press release.

From 8-9pm, up against Fox's American Idol and CBS comedies, ABC's Missing once again more than doubled the audience of NBC's original comedy block (+155% over Community/30 Rock) and tied among Adults 18-49. Picking up audience throughout its broadcast, the new ABC drama gained viewers (+4%) and young adults (+8%) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· Missing's overall audience grew week to week by 10% week to hit a 3-week high. In addition, the freshman series drew 27% more viewers to the hour for ABC year to year, topping original programming on the year-ago night.

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9pm (+107%), ABC's Grey's Anatomy moved up to #1 in its time period among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact among Adults 18-49, Grey's beat out Fox's Idol-driven Touch during the 9 o'clock hour by 26%. Additionally, Grey's stood as Thursday's #1 TV show across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Grey's was up week to week in viewers (+7%) and young adults (+4%).

Continuing to exhibit solid retention of its Grey's lead-in during the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's Scandal ranked #1 among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. In the hour, ABC's Scandal more than doubled its freshman drama competition, defeating NBC's Awake by 188% in Total Viewers, by 170% in Adults 25-54 and by 133% in Adults 18-49. In addition, the new drama won its slot among Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 for the 2nd week in a row.

· Bucking the general trend for new shows, ABC's Scandal was up over its week-ago debut across a number of key demos: Total Viewers (+3%), AD18-34 (+15%), AD18-49 (+5%) and AD25-54 (+4%).

· Scandal attracted ABC's largest audience in the time period in more than 3 months - since 1/5/12.

Quick Take for Thursday, April 12, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's "Missing" Hits a 3-Week High in Viewers and Improves its Hour Year to Year

Rising Week to Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49, "Grey's" Ranks No. 1 at 9pm

Building on its Week-Ago Series Debut, ABC's "Scandal" Finishes No. 1 in its Hour

"Missing" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-9:00 p.m., up against Fox's "American Idol" and CBS comedies, ABC's "Missing" once again more than doubled the audience of NBC's original comedy block (7.9 million vs. 3.1 million - +155% over "Community"/"30 Rock") and tied among Adults 18-49 (1.4/4). Picking up audience throughout its broadcast, the new ABC drama gained viewers (+4% - 7.7 million to 8.0 million) and young adults (+8% - 1.3/4 to 1.4/4) from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· "Missing's" overall audience grew week to week by 10% to hit a 3-week high. In addition, the freshman series drew 27% more viewers to the hour for ABC year to year, topping original programming on the year-ago night ("Wipeout" on 4/14/11 = 6.2 million).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+107%), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" moved up to No. 1 in its time period among Total Viewers (8.8 million-tie) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/8). In fact among Adults 18-49, "Grey's" beat out Fox's "Idol"-driven "Touch" (2.3/6) during the 9 o'clock hour by 26%. Additionally, "Grey's" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Grey's" was up week to week in viewers (+7%) and young adults (+4%).

"Scandal" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Continuing to exhibit solid retention of its "Grey's" lead-in during the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Scandal" ranked No. 1 among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54. In the hour, ABC's "Scandal" more than doubled its freshman drama competition, defeating NBC's "Awake" by 188% in Total Viewers (7.5 million vs. 2.6 million), by 170% in Adults 25-54 (2.7/7 vs. 1.0/3) and by 133% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 0.9/2). In addition, the new drama won its slot among key Women (W18-49/W25-54) for the 2nd week in a row.

· Bucking the general trend for new shows, ABC's "Scandal" was up over its week-ago debut across a number of key demos: Total Viewers (+3%), AD18-34 (+15%), AD18-49 (+5%) and AD25-54 (+4%).

· "Scandal" attracted ABC's largest audience in the time slot in over 3 months - since 1/5/12.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 43% currently, from 40% at the same point in 2011. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 04/12/12.