"Black Box" Opens as ABC's Most-Watched 10pm Drama Debut Since "Nashville" in October 2012

Black Box (10-11pm - 6.6 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49): In the 10pm hour, ABC's Black Box nearly tied CBS' Elementary for #1 in the hour among Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.6/5) and won the hour in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In addition, Black Box outperformed NBC's week-ago season finale of Parenthood (4.0 million and 1.3/4 on 4/17/14) in the same hour by 2.6 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49.

· Black Box was up substantially over ABC's most recent debut in the slot, improving over The Assets (3.8 million and 0.7/2 on 1/2/14) in by 74% Total Viewers and by 114% in Adults 18-49. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tied w/Betrayal), Black Box is ABC's top 10pm drama debut on any night since Nashville in October 2012 and its best non-Fall opener since Scandal in April 2012 - since 10/10/12 and 4/5/12, respectively.

Quick Take for Thursday, April 24, 2014 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's 8pm "JKL" Replay Draws More Viewers than NBC's "Parks and Rec" Finale

"Grey's" Nearly Quadruples its Lead-in to Rank No. 1 in its Slot in Adults 18-49

ABC's Debut of "Black Box" Wins its Hour in Adults 18-34 and Key Women - and Stands as the Net's Biggest 10pm Drama Debut Since "Nashville" in October 2012

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.7 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49):

With an encore of "JKL: Behind the Scandalabra," "Grey's Anatomy" and the debut of "Black Box," ABC finished No. 2 in Total Viewers (5.7 million) and won the night in Women 18-34 for the 9th straight week (1.7/6).

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Behind the Scandalabra" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 2.8 million and 0.6/2 in AD18-49):

During the 8:00 p.m. hour against all-original competition on CBS ("Big Bang Theory"/"The Millers"), NBC ("Parks & Rec" finale) and Fox ("Hell's Kitchen"), ABC's encore of "JKL: Behind the Scandalabra" drew an average audience of 2.8 million viewers on top of the 4.0 million viewers that tuned into the show's original airing last Thursday (on 4/17/14 at 11:35 p.m.), which was its most-watched-ever late-night telecast during its more than 11-year history.

· From 8:00-9:00 p.m., the replay "JKL" attracted a larger audience than NBC's 1-hour season finale of "Parks & Rec" (2.8 million vs. 2.7 million).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 7.6 million and 2.3/7 in AD18-49):

Nearly quadrupling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+283%), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (2.3/7-tied w/ CBS) jumped up to the No. 1 position in its hour, beating Fox with "American Idol" and "Surviving Jack" by 64% (1.4/4) and NBC's "SNL" special by 130% (1.0/3). The ABC drama also won the hour with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). The ABC drama was Thursday's No. 1 most social broadcast series with 46,979 tweets.

· In its 10th season, "Grey's Anatomy" is up over the same point last year in both Total Viewers (+8%) and Adults 18-49 (+5%), delivering its best results in 4 and 3 years, respectively - since the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

"Black Box" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.6 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49):

In the 10:00 p.m. hour, ABC's "Black Box" nearly tied CBS' "Elementary" for No. 1 among Adults 18-49 (1.5/4 vs. 1.6/5), while winning it time slot in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). In addition, "Black Box" outperformed NBC's week-ago season finale of "Parenthood" (4.0 million and 1.3/4 on 4/17/14) in the same hour by 2.6 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49.

· "Black Box" was up substantially over ABC's most recent debut in the slot, improving over "The Assets" (3.8 million and 0.7/2 on 1/2/14) by 74% Total Viewers and by 114% in Adults 18-49.

· In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tied w/"Betrayal"), "Black Box" is ABC's top 10:00 p.m. drama debut on any night since "Nashville" in October 2012 and its best non-Fall opener since "Scandal" in April 2012 - since 10/10/12 and 4/5/12, respectively.

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 49% currently, from 47% at the same point in 2013. 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, 04/24/14. Nielsen Social, total tweets, as dated.