ABC's "Scandal" Builds on "Grey's" to Match a Series High

Please Note: On Valentine's Day, overall Adult 18-49 primetime TV usage levels were down -6% week to week (34.3 vs. 36.3).

During the 8 o'clock hour opposite Idol and CBS' top-rated comedies (Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men), ABC's debut of Zero Hour outdrew NBC's established comedies (Community/Parks and Recreation) by 3.3 million viewers. The new show drew ABC's largest series audience in the hour in 16 weeks - since 10/25/12. It was TV's 2nd-most-watched regular series debut this year, behind only The Following.

More than doubling its lead-in (+108%) at 9pm, ABC's Grey's Anatomy moved up to 2nd in the hour with Adults 18-49, beating Fox's Idol-driven Glee by 59% and NBC's comedies by 35% (The Office/1600 Penn). The ABC veteran drama continued to dominate its slot with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Despite airing on Valentine's Day, Grey's grew its overall audience from the same night last year.

Building on its Grey's lead-in for the first time ever, ABC's Scandal won the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 by 27% over CBS' Elementary to rank as the #1 series in its time period for its 8th straight broadcast. Scandal matched a series high in Adults 18-49. Over its last seven first-run airings, Scandal delivered the series' Top 7 highest-rated telecasts in Adults 18-49 and its Top 6 most-watched episodes overall. The sophomore drama improved its hour year to year by 13% in viewers and by 8% in young adults.

Social Media: Scandal is consistently one of the most active shows each Thursday on Twitter. Although data for last night's telecast isn't available for a few hours, last week's Scandal (on 2/7/13) generated 351,313 Total Tweets (a +73% increase from the prior week) and was the #1 most talked about series on Twitter for all of Thursday. So far this season, Scandal has generated over 1.6 million tweets.

Quick Take for Thursday, February 14, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's "Zero Hour" Debut Tops NBC's Established Comedies by 3.3 Million Viewers, Pulling in the Net's Biggest Series Audience in the Time Period Since October

"Grey's" More Than Doubles its Adult 18-49 Lead-in and Gains Viewers Year to Year

Building on "Grey's" for the First Time Ever, ABC's "Scandal" Matches a Series High Among Adults 18-49 to Rank as the No. 1 Series in its Slot for its 8th Straight Telecast

Please Note: On Valentine's Day, overall Adult 18-49 primetime TV usage levels were down -6% week to week (34.3 vs. 36.3).

"Zero Hour" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

During the 8 o'clock hour opposite "Idol" and CBS' top-rated comedies ("Big Bang Theory"/"Two and a Half Men"), ABC's debut of "Zero Hour" outdrew NBC's established comedies ("Community"/"Parks and Recreation") by 3.3 million viewers (6.3 million vs. 3.0 million).

· "Zero Hour" drew ABC's largest series audience in the hour in 16 weeks - since 10/25/12. It was TV's 2nd-most-watched regular series debut this year, behind only "The Following."

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

More than doubling its lead-in (+108%) at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" moved up to 2nd in the hour with Adults 18-49 (2.7/7), beating Fox's "Idol"-driven "Glee" by 59% (1.7/5) and NBC's comedies by 35% ("The Office"/"1600 Penn" = 2.0/6). The ABC veteran drama continued to dominate its slot with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Despite airing on Valentine's Day with lower viewing levels, "Grey's" grew its overall audience from the same night last year (8.4 million vs. 8.3 million).

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

Building on its "Grey's" lead-in for the first time ever, ABC's "Scandal" won the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 by 27% over CBS' "Elementary" (2.8/8 vs. 2.2/6) to rank as the No. 1 series in its time period for its 8th straight broadcast.

· "Scandal" matched a series high in Adults 18-49. Over its last seven first-run airings, "Scandal" has delivered the series' Top 7 highest-rated telecasts in Adults 18-49 and its Top 6 most-watched episodes overall. The sophomore drama improved its hour year to year by 13% in viewers and by 8% in young adults.

· "Scandal" is consistently one of the most active shows each Thursday on Twitter, and so far this season has generated over 1.8 million tweets.

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 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012.

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, 02/14/13. Social Guide is based on the cume of social activity during a show's broadcast, 9/27/12-2/7/13.