"Last Resort" Continues to Deliver Strong Year-to-Year Growth for ABC

Early info on ABC's Last Resort, ahead of the regular press release. Please Note: From 9-11pm, ABC's Grey's Anatomy and Scandal were pre-empted for the Vice Presidential Debate.

In the 8 o'clock hour opposite Fox's The X Factor and CBS' top-rated comedies (The Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men), ABC freshman Last Resort once again beat out NBC's established comedies by wide margins, outdelivering the combo of 30 Rock and Up All Night by 3.3 million viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49.

· The biggest percentage gainer via DVR playback for any 8pm show, last week's broadcast of Last Resort saw its Adult 18-49 number jump 42% (up from a 36% increase for its debut telecast) to a 2.7 rating, from the Live + Same Day to the Live + 3 Day numbers. The new drama also surged by an additional 1.9 million viewers in its first 3 days of playback, rising to 9.9 million viewers.

· The new ABC drama continued to generate double-digit time period improvement year to year (up for its 3rd straight telecast), growing its hour by 17% in Total Viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year with original drama programming. In addition despite going up against MLB playoff baseball, Last Resort delivered huge year-to-year increases across all key Men demos: M18-34 +120%, M18-49 +100% and M25-54 +82%.

Quick Take for Thursday, October 11, 2012 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Freshman "Last Resort" Beats Out NBC's Established Comedies in the 8pm Hour

ABC's "Last Resort" is the Biggest Gainer for Any 8pm Show in DVR Playback

The New ABC Drama Continues to Deliver Strong Year-to-Year Time Period Growth

Please Note: From 9:00-11:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal" were pre-empted for the Vice Presidential Debate. Also due to the debate, the Fast Affiliate Ratings do not include viewing for "Last Resort" in the Mountain Time Zone.

"Last Resort" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

In the 8 o'clock hour opposite Fox's "The X Factor" and CBS' top-rated comedies ("The Big Bang Theory"/"Two and a Half Men"), ABC freshman "Last Resort" once again beat out NBC's established comedies by wide margins, outdelivering the combo of "30 Rock" and "Up All Night" by 3.3 million viewers (6.9 million vs. 3.6 million) and by 23% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.3/4).

· The biggest percentage gainer via DVR playback for any 8:00 p.m. show, last week's broadcast of "Last Resort" saw its Adult 18-49 number jump 42% (up from a 36% increase for its debut telecast) to a 2.7 rating, from the Live + Same Day to the Live + 3 Day numbers. The new drama also surged by an additional 1.9 million viewers in its first 3 days of playback, rising to 9.9 million viewers.

· The new ABC drama continued to generate double-digit time period improvement year to year (up for its 3rd straight telecast), growing its hour by 17% in Total Viewers and by 23% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year with original drama programming. In addition despite going up against Major League Baseball Playoffs, "Last Resort" delivered huge year-to-year increases across all key Men demos: M18-34 +120%, M18-49 +100% and M25-54 +82%.

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 46% currently, from 42% 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, 10/11/12.