ABC's Thursday Winter Finales Grow - "Scandal" Hits All-Time Highs for the 2nd Week Running

Early info on ABC's Thursday, ahead of the regular press release.

ABC earned second place on Thursday in viewers and young adults, matching its top Thursday since October with regular programming on the night - since 10/18/12 and 10/4/12, respectively.

Note: ABC's lineup was preempted in Philadelphia for local NFL coverage.

Soaring over its lead-in at 9pm (+158%), ABC's winter finale of Grey's Anatomy won its hour and finished as Thursday's #1 drama for its 9th consecutive telecast this season in Adults 18-49. During the 9'clock hour among young adults, Grey's outdelivered CBS' Person of Interest by 3%, Fox's Glee by 55% and NBC's Take It All by 158%. In addition, the ABC drama continued to dominate its hour with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Grey's was up week to week among Adults 18-49 (+3%).

Marking its best-ever young adult lead-in retention out of an original Grey's (87%) in its winter finale, ABC's Scandal defeated CBS' Elementary for the 2nd straight week Adults 18-49 (+17%) to qualify as the #1 series in the 10 o'clock hour for the 3rd straight week. Additionally, Scandal continued to lead by double to triple-digit margins over Elementary with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), taking first place in the hour for its 5th straight broadcast with W18-49 and W25-54.

· Growing for its 3rd straight telecast in viewers (+5%) and young adults (+8%), Scandal achieved all-time highs for the 2nd week running in Total Viewers and across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54).

Quick Take for Thursday, December 13, 2012 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

ABC Matches its Best Thursday with Regular Programming Since October

Up Week to Week, "Grey's" Winter Finale Wins the 9pm Hour in Adults 18-49 And Qualifies as Thursday's No. 1 Drama for its 9th Consecutive Broadcast

Hitting All-Time Highs for the 2nd Week Running, ABC's "Scandal" Winter Finale Finishes as the No. 1 TV Series in its Hour for the 3rd Week in a Row in Adults 18-49

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC earned second place on Thursday in viewers (7.4 million) and young adults (2.3/6), matching its top Thursday since October with regular programming on the night - since 10/18/12 and 10/4/12, respectively.

Note: ABC's lineup was preempted in Philadelphia for local NFL coverage.

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

Spiking over its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+158%), ABC's winter finale of "Grey's Anatomy" won its hour and finished as Thursday's No. 1 drama for its 9th consecutive telecast this season in Adults 18-49. During the 9'clock hour among young adults, "Grey's" (3.1/8) outdelivered CBS' "Person of Interest" by 3% (3.0/8), Fox's "Glee" by 55% (2.0/5) and NBC's "Take It All" by 158% (1.2/3). In addition, the ABC drama continued to dominate its hour with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Grey's" was up week to week among Adults 18-49 (+3%).

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

Marking its best-ever young adult lead-in retention out of an original "Grey's" (87%) in its winter finale, ABC's "Scandal" (2.7/7) defeated CBS' "Elementary" (2.3/6) for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-49 (+17%) to qualify as the No. 1 series in the 10 o'clock hour for the 3rd straight week. "Scandal" continued to lead by double to triple-digit margins over "Elementary" with Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), taking first place in the hour for its 5th straight broadcast with W18-49 and W25-54.

· Growing for its 3rd straight telecast in viewers (+5%) and young adults (+8%), "Scandal" achieved all-time highs for the 2nd week running in Total Viewers (7.8 million) and across all key Adult demos: AD18-34 (2.2/7), AD18-49 (2.7/7) and AD25-54 (3.1/8).

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 46% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2011. 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, 12/13/12.