Live + 7 Ratings: ABC Claims 3 of the Week's Top 5 Biggest Broadcast Gainers in Adults 18-49

Live + 7 Day ratings for the week of 11/3/14 (Week #7):

Please note: ABC's entire Wednesday line-up was pre-empted for the CMA Awards, Castle was pre-empted for a Countdown to the CMA Awards special, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was pre-empted for a Marvel: 75 Years, From Pulp to Pop! Special and Forever was pre-empted for Election coverage.

Despite a number of its programs being pre-empted during the week, ABC still had 3 of the week's Top 5 biggest broadcast gainers among Adults 18-49, with CBS and NBC having just one apiece, while also claiming 4 of the Top 10 (the most for any network for the 7th week running): How to Get Away with Murder (+2.2 rating points) - #2, Scandal (+1.8) - #4, Grey's Anatomy (+1.7) - #5 and Once Upon a Time (+1.4) - #8.

Scandal (+1.8 rating points) equaled a series highs in playback in Adults 18-49, while both Grey's (+1.7) and Revenge (+1.0 - tie) delivered season-high lifts. In addition, Once Upon a Time (+56%), HTGAWM (+79% - tie) and Resurrection (+67% - tie) each scored their biggest-ever playback increases.

Matching its largest playback gain this season (+1.0 rating points), ABC's Revenge grew to a new season high L+7 rating in Adults 18-49 (2.3 rating).

In the final Live + 7 Day ratings, HTGAWM (5.0 rating - #3) and Scandal (4.7 - #4) shot up to the week's Top 5 highest-rated broadcast programs among Adults 18-49 (from #8 and #7, respectively, in the L+SD numbers) and solidified their ranks as the Top 2 broadcast dramas of the week.

· ABC's Once Upon a Time grew to a 3.9 rating with Adults 18-49 to emerge as Sunday's #1 broadcast entertainment series, beating Fox's The Simpsons (3.6) by 3-tenths of a rating point. In the L+SD ratings, Once Upon a Time trailed the Fox animated show by 5-tenths of a rating point among young adults.

Season-to-Date TV Playback (9/22/14-11/9/14):

Based on L+7 ratings for the first 7 weeks of the 2014-15 season, ABC is the #1 non-sports network among Adults 18-49 (2.8 rating) in the L+7 numbers, holding double-digit advantages over CBS (+12% - 2.5), NBC (+17% - 2.4) and Fox (+33% - 2.1). ABC grows by +0.9 rating points over its Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 rating (1.9 rating in L+SD to a 2.8 in L+7) in the non-sports averages, making the Net the #1 biggest actual gainer in TV playback this season. Growing to a 2.8 L+7 rating among Adults 18-49 in the non-sports numbers, ABC is even year to year (2.8 for 9/23/13-11/10/13), while CBS (-11%), NBC (-14%) and Fox (-13%) all posted double-digit losses.

Based on TV playback data for the 2014-15 season, ABC's How to Get Away with Murder (+2.2 rating points) and Modern Family (+2.2) share the #2 spot among broadcast gainers in Adults 18-49.

ABC's HTGAWM is the season's biggest gainer for any freshman series among Adults 18-49 (+2.2 rating points), topping the L+7 gain of Fox's Gotham (+1.8). The ABC show is also the season's #1 broadcast drama and #1 new TV show in the young adult demo (5.3 rating).

Among Adults 18-49 in the L+7 ratings, ABC has the #1 show on Wednesday with Modern Family (5.7 rating), the Top 3 series on Thursday with HTGAWM (5.3), Scandal (4.8) and Grey's Anatomy (4.1) and the #1 show on Friday with Shark Tank (2.5).

Several ABC's returning series are seeing bigger percentage gains among Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+7 this year than last: Castle (+61% vs. +57%), DWTS (+21% vs. +19%), Last Man Standing (+58% vs. +46%), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+82% vs. +65%), The Middle (+30% vs. +22%), Modern Family (+63% vs. +48%) and Revenge (+83% vs. +65%).

Source: The Nielsen Company, as dated. Based on regular, original telecasts only. Season-to-Date DVR playback ranker includes programs with 2 or more telecasts.