The Net Ranks a Strong No. 1 in the Non-Sports Adult 18-49 Averages, with 6 Of the Top 15 Entertainment Series, the Top 2 Dramas and No. 1 New Comedy

ABC is Up the Most this Season in Viewers and the Only Net Up in Adults 18-49

ABC Marks its Best Thursday Start to a Season in 5 Years And Delivers its Highest-Rated Friday Start in 7 Years

The Network is No. 1 in Upscale Adults 18-49 with 7 of the Top 15 TV Series

ABC's Primetime Numbers Surge via TV Playback, Gaining 30% in Viewers and 42% in Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+7

ABC Primetime 2014-15 (09/22/14-11/16/14)

Based on Nielsen's non-sports averages (to account for the inflated averages from sports coverage), ABC is a strong No. 1 this season in Adults 18-49: ABC (2.6/8), CBS (2.3/7), NBC (2.3/7) and Fox (1.9/6).

· ABC is Up the Most in Viewers and the Only Net to Grow in Adults 18-49: Season to date based on all programming, ABC is up 6% in Total Viewers (9.0 million vs. 8.7 million) and 4% in Adults 18-49, making it the biggest gainer in viewers and the only network up in the key sales demo. CBS (-4%), NBC (-6%) and Fox (-12%) are each down this season with young adults. The Net is up year to year on 4 nights in Adults 18-49: Thursday (+21%), Friday (+12%), Saturday (+6%) and Sunday (+10%).

· Season's Highest-Rated TV Series: The Net delivers 6 of the Top 15 entertainment series on broadcast TV this season in Adults 18-49 (more than any net), including the No. 1 freshman show ("How to Get Away with Murder"), the No. 1 new comedy ("black-ish") and the Top 2 dramas ("HTGAWM" and "Scandal"): "Modern Family" (5.3 rating) - No. 2, "HTGAWM" (4.6 rating) - No. 3, "Scandal" (4.3 rating) - No. 6, "black-ish" (3.7 rating) - No. 11, "Grey's Anatomy" (3.6 rating) - No. 12 and "Once Upon a Time" (3.5 rating) - No. 15. In addition, "HTGAWM" and "Scandal" are the season's Top 2 highest-rated shows with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

· More Returning Shows Up than Any Other Net: In Adults 18-49, ABC's "The Goldbergs" (+20%), "Modern Family" (+4%), "Scandal" (+2%), "Last Man Standing" (+6%), "20/20" (+7%) and "Once Upon a Time" (+13%) are each up over their performance at the same point last season. In addition, ABC's "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+22%), "Forever" (+82%), "The Goldbergs" (+43%), "black-ish" (+32%), "Grey's" (+125%), "How to Get Away with Murder" (+10%), "Cristela" (+8%) and "Revenge" (+36%) are each improving their respective time periods with young adults. In fact, ABC has more returning shows up this season in Adults 18-49 than any other network.

· Strongest Thursday Start to a Season in 5 Years Opposite the NFL: Despite facing CBS' Thursday Night Football on the first 5 weeks of the season, ABC is up by double digits on the night versus the same point last year in Total Viewers (+28%) and Adults 18-49 (+21%). On both Nielsen measures, ABC is delivering its strongest start on the night in 5 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2009-10 season.

· Up on Friday in Viewers for the 4th Straight Year to an 11-Year High: Building for the 4th straight year on Friday in Total Viewers (+12%) and increasing its Adult 18-49 delivery (+10%), ABC is delivering its most-watched Friday start to a season in 11 years and best in 7 years with young adults - since the comparable weeks of the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons, respectively. The Net ranks No. 1 on the night with "Shark Tank" as Friday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49.

· ABC's 2-Hour Comedy Block is Up to 3-Year Highs and Ranks No. 1 in Adults 18-49: On average, ABC's 2-hour Wednesday comedy block leads its 8:00-10:00 p.m. time period by 16% in Adults 18-49 over its nearest competition (CBS). The comedy block is growing year to year in viewers (+14%) and young adults (+16%) for its best numbers in 3 years - since the comparable weeks of the 2011-12 season. "Modern Family" and "black-ish" are the Top 2 TV shows of the night in Adults 18-49.

· ABC Leads Season with Upscale Young Adults: Among Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ Annual Income in the non-sports numbers, ABC (3.41 rating) ranks No. 1 this season, leading NBC by 19% (2.87 rating), CBS by 30% (2.62 rating) and Fox by 75% (1.95 rating). ABC airs 7 of the Top 15 highest-rated broadcast entertainment series (the most for any net) among high-income young adults, placing 5 of the Top 10, including the No. 1 series overall with "Modern Family" and the No. 1 new show with "How to Get Away with Murder:" "Modern Family" (9.20 rating) - No. 1, "HTGAWM" (6.26 - No. 1 drama) - No. 3, "Scandal" (6.10) - No. 5, "black-ish" (4.92 - No. 1 new comedy) - No. 8, "Grey's Anatomy" (4.85) - No. 9, "Once Upon a Time" (4.12) - No. 13 and "The Goldbergs" (3.90) - No. 15.

· ABC Series Among Most Popularly Recorded and Played Back: On average during primetime, ABC's numbers for original programming jump from the first-reported Live + Same Day averages to the finalized Live + 7 Day ratings by 30% in Total Viewers (7.3 million to 9.5 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 to 2.7/8), making it the biggest percentage gainer among the major nets on both counts. With a rise in DVR penetration year to year, ABC's series remain among the most popularly recorded and played back TV shows again this season, as it delivers 3 of the Top 10 biggest broadcast gainers in Total Viewers, including the season's No. 1 biggest freshman gainer ("HTGAWM"). A total of 12 ABC series add 2.5 million viewers or more from their initially reported totals via time-shifted viewing: "HTGAWM" (+5.5 million), "Modern Family" (+4.8 million), "Castle" (+4.4 million), "Scandal" (+3.8 million), "Grey's" (+3.4 million), "Forever" (+3.3 million), "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (+3.2 million), "black-ish" (+2.8 million), "Once Upon a Time" (+2.8 million), "Revenge" (+2.7 million), "Resurrection" (+2.5 million) and "Nashville" (+2.5 million). Among Adults 18-49, 9 of ABC's series register substantial ratings increases of at least 1.0 rating points: "HTGAWM" (+2.2 rating), "Modern Family" (+2.2 rating), "Scandal" (+1.6 rating), "Grey's" (+1.5 rating), "Once Upon a Time" (+1.3 rating), "S.H.I.E.L.D." (+1.3 rating), "black-ish" (+1.2 rating), "Castle" (+1.1 rating) and "Nashville" (+1.0 rating).

Source: The Nielsen Company, (National, Most Current Program Ratings), 09/22/14-11/16/14, or as dated. Upscale data based on regular non-sports programming. DVR/VOD Playback based on regular, original telecasts only for programs with 2+ telecasts in Live + 7 Day ratings for 09/22/14-11/02/14.