ABC's Thursday Night Ratings

Despite repeats in the opening and closing hours of the night, ABC outdelivered NBC's Thursday lineup by 2.4 million viewers and by 42% in Adults18-49. CBS and Fox each aired all original programming on the night.

On its first original telecast since February (on 2/21/13) and on the first Thursday of Daylight Saving Time, ABC's Grey's Anatomy doubled its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+100% over a repeat Shark Tank) to run a strong second in the the 9 o'clock hour to CBS' Person of Interest (which had the benefit of originals of Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men leading into the hour), beating Fox's Idol-led Glee by 30% and NBC's comedies by 86% (The Office/1600 Penn). Grey's won the hour and stood as the #1 drama of the night in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Please Note: Grey's is one of the biggest gainers via playback, adding on 1.7 Adult rating points (+53%) from its next-day numbers to its L+7 finals

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's repeat Scandal was up over the prior week by 19% in viewers and by 20% in young adults to deliver the series 2nd-highest-ever encore numbers. The repeat Scandal beat out NBC's repeat Law & Order: SVU by double digit in Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+33%).

Quick Take for Thursday, March 14, 2013 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Doubling its Repeat Lead-in, ABC "Grey's" Wins with Adults 18-34 and Key Women

In the 10pm Hour, ABC's "Scandal" Beats its Encore NBC Drama Competition by Double-Digit Percentages to Deliver the Series' 2nd-Highest-Ever Repeat Numbers

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

Airing repeats in the opening and closing hours of the night, ABC outdelivered NBC's Thursday lineup by 2.4 million viewers (5.6 million vs. 3.2 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.2/4). CBS and Fox each aired all-original programming on the night.

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

On its first original telecast since February (since 2/21/13) and on the first Thursday in Daylight Saving Time, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (2.6/7) doubled its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+100% over a repeat "Shark Tank") to run a strong second in the 9 o'clock hour to CBS' "Person of Interest" (which had the benefit of originals of "The Big Bang Theory"/"Two and a Half Men" as a lead-in), beating Fox's "Idol"-led "Glee" by 30% (2.0/6) and NBC's comedies by 86% ("The Office"/"1600 Penn" = 1.4/4). "Grey's" won the hour and stood as the No. 1 drama of the night in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· "Grey's" is one of TV's biggest gainers via TV playback, adding on 1.7 Adult 18-49 rating points (+53%) from its preliminary next-day numbers to its L+7 finals.

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

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's repeat "Scandal" beat out NBC's repeat "Law & Order: SVU" by double digits in Total Viewers (+16% - 4.3 million vs. 3.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (+33% - 1.2/4 vs. 0.9/3).

· "Scandal" grew week to week by 19% in viewers and by 20% in young adults to deliver the series 2nd-highest-ever encore numbers.

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 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012.

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, 03/14/13.