or


[05/17/13 - 08:33 AM]
ABC's "Scandal" Marks Most-Watched Telecast Ever and Spikes Over Last Season's Finale
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 16.

[via press release from ABC]

ABC's "Scandal" Marks Most-Watched Telecast Ever and Spikes Over Last Season's Finale

In its second season finale, ABC's red-hot Scandal delivered the series most-watched telecast ever (up for the 3rd week in a row) and tied a series high in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week running. The show also achieved new all-time highs across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Scandal dominated the 10 o'clock hour, beating the second hour of CBS' 2-hour Elementary finale by 68% in Adults 18-49 to finish as the #1 TV series in its slot on each of its last 16 first-run broadcasts. Scandal spiked over its year-ago first season finale in Total Viewers (+25%) and Adults 18-49 (+39%). Scandal built on its Grey's Adult 18-49 lead-in for the 3rd time in 4 weeks.

Scandal Social Stats: Scandal once again topped Thursday night as the most social series with 571,353 tweets, which is its highest number this season. This is up +83% from the prior week, and Scandal has now delivered over 4.3 million tweets this season making it ABC's most social program. As it has continually done this season, Scandal outperformed the American Idol Finale by +56% (366,061 tweets)

Quick Take for Thursday, May 16, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Despite Facing the "Idol" Finale, ABC's "Grey's" is Up from Last Week's Preliminary Adult 18-49 Rating and is the No. 1 Scripted Show in its Slot for 7 Straight Originals

ABC's "Scandal" Sophomore Finale Spikes Year to Year, Marking the Series' Most-Watched Telecast Ever and Soaring to New Highs in Social Activity

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

Tripling its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+200%) at 9:00 p.m. opposite the second hour of Fox's "Idol" finale, ABC's season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" (3.0/8) was the No. 1 scripted show in its hour for its 7th consecutive first-run airing, beating NBC's series finale of "The Office" (+3% - 2.9/8) and the opening hour of CBS' 2-hour season finale of "Elementary" (+43% - 2.1/6). The ABC medical drama won the hour with Women 18-34, beating "Idol" by 6%.

· Despite facing the "Idol" closer, "Grey's" was up over last week's Fast Affiliate Rating by 3% in Adults 18-49.

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

Building on its "Grey's" Adult 18-49 lead-in for the 3rd time in 4 weeks, ABC's sophomore season finale of "Scandal" (3.2/9) dominated the 10 o'clock hour, beating the second hour of CBS' "Elementary" finale by 68% (1.9/5) to finish as the No. 1 TV series in its slot on each of its last 16 first-run broadcasts. In addition, "Scandal's" finale delivered higher ratings than "Idol's" finale on the night in Adults 18-34 & key Women (W18-34/W18-49). It was Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Women 18-34.

· "Scandal" (9.1 million) delivered the series' most-watched telecast ever (up for the 3rd week in a row) and tied a series high in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd week running. The show also achieved new all-time highs across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Scandal" spiked over its year-ago freshman season finale (7.3 million and 2.3/7 on 5/17/12) in Total Viewers (+25%) and Adults 18-49 (+39%).

"Scandal" Social Activity: "Scandal" once again topped Thursday night as the most social series with 571,353 tweets, its highest number ever. Jumping 83% from the prior week, "Scandal" delivered over 4.3 million tweets this season, making it ABC's most social program. As it has continually done this season, "Scandal" outperformed the "American Idol" finale by 56% in number of tweets (366,061).

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 48% currently, from 44% 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, 05/16/13. Socialguide 05/16/13, Total Tweets for each episode +/- 3hrs during telecast.





  [may 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· AMERICAN IDOL (ABC)
· ELEMENTARY (CBS)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· SCANDAL (ABC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.

[10/14/25 - 02:50 PM]
ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers
The Mariners victory over the Blue Jays averaged 5,310,000 viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services.

[10/14/25 - 02:39 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched LDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014
On Friday, 8,723,000 viewers tuned in for the Mariners' historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory.

[10/14/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, As Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC "SNF."

[10/14/25 - 01:45 PM]
ABC Wednesday Comedies Return Strong for New Seasons
"Shifting Gears" earned the biggest audience since the show's Valentine's Day episode; while "Abbott Elementary" jumped over the show's season four premiere among Total Viewers as well as the season four average.

[10/14/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 6: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Rocks the Boat as No. 1 Debut in This Week's Top 10
In the spirit of the season of chills, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" claimed the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, rising to the top in its second week with 20.7 million views.

[10/10/25 - 03:07 PM]
3,287,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 4 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 4, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +11% from 2024 and +31% over 2023.

[10/10/25 - 09:04 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Scores Historic Growth in Week Four
"Dancing with the Stars" rose for the third straight week following its season premiere, for the first time in the show's history, in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

[10/09/25 - 05:01 PM]
3,177,000 Viewers Tuned in on Average Through Game 3 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2
Through Game 3, coverage of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 and FS2 is up +14% from 2024 and +28% over 2023.