L+7 Ratings: ABC's The Middle, The Goldbergs and Nashville All Match Season Highs in AD18-49

Live + 7 Day ratings for the week of 3/2/15 (Week #24):

ABC had 4 of the week's Top 10 biggest broadcast gainers in TV playback among Adults 18-49 (more than any other network): Modern Family (+2.2 rating points) - #3, Scandal (+1.5) - #6, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+1.3) and Grey's Anatomy (+1.3) tied for #10. On a percentage basis, ABC claimed 3 of the Top 10 with young adults: Revenge (+82%) - #5, S.H.I.E.L.D. (+81%) - #6 and Nashville (+79%) - #9.

On its first telecast in 3 months, ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned equaling its 2nd-biggest percentage build this season, shooting up +81% over its L+SD rating (from a 1.6 in L+SD to a 2.9 in L+7) to stand as Tuesday's #1 biggest broadcast gainer among Adults 18-49. Also on Tuesday, Fresh Off the Boat matched its largest-ever percentage lift, growing +41% after 7 days of TV playback (to finish with a 2.4 rating in L+7 from a 1.7 rating in L+SD). ABC's Nashville also tied a season high in playback, with a +79% increase in the L+7 Adult 18-49 numbers.

On Wednesday, ABC's The Middle (2.9 rating), The Goldbergs (3.5) and Nashville (2.5) all matched their highest L+7 ratings of the season among Adults 18-49, while ABC's Modern Family ended up over the prior week in the L+7 numbers (+2% - 5.6 vs. 5.5) to deliver its top-rated telecast since mid-November - since 11/19/14.

In the final Live + 7 Day ratings, ABC's Modern Family (5.6 rating) moved past both the Monday (4.9) and Tuesday (5.0) editions of NBC's The Voice to rank as the week's #3 highest-rated broadcast series among Adults 18-49. In addition, ABC's The Goldbergs virtually tied CBS' The Big Bang Theory-boosted The Odd Couple (3.5 vs. 3.6) as the #3 highest-rated sitcom of the week among Adults 18-49.

Season-to-Date TV Playback (9/22/14-3/8/15):

Based on L+7 ratings through 24 weeks of the 2014-15 season, ABC is #1 in Nielsen's non-sports Adult 18-49 averages (2.3 rating), leading CBS (+5% - 2.2), NBC (+10% - 2.1) and Fox (+21% - 1.9). ABC grows to a 2.3 rating among Adults 18-49 in Nielsen's non-sports Adult 18-49 averages, up year to year by 5% (2.2 for 9/23/13-3/9/14), while CBS (-4%), NBC (-13%) and Fox (-10%) are each declining.

Based on TV playback data for the 2014-15 season, ABC's Modern Family (+2.2 rating points) and How to Get Away with Murder (+2.0) hold the #2 and #3 spots, respectively, among broadcast gainers in Adults 18-49. In fact, HTGAWM stands as the season's biggest broadcast drama gainer and biggest gainer for any freshman series among young adults (tied with Fox's Empire).

Among Adults 18-49 in the L+7 ratings, ABC has the Top 2 dramas on Thursday with HTGAWM (5.0 rating) and Scandal (4.8), the #1 show on Friday with Shark Tank (2.6) and the #1 broadcast series on Sunday with Once Upon a Time (3.6-tie).

Several ABC's returning series are seeing bigger percentage gains among Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+7 this year than last: The Bachelor (+30% vs. +25%), Castle (+69% vs. +60%), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+76% vs. +65%), Modern Family (+67% vs. +56%), Revenge (+91% vs. +53%), Scandal (+50% vs. +48%) and Shark Tank (+37% vs. +30%).

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.