ABC's Modern Family is Wednesday's #1 TV Show for its 7th Straight Original in AD18-49

ABC delivered Wednesday's #1 TV show in Adults 18-49, with Modern Family ranking as the night's highest-rated program for its 7th consecutive original airing. On the night, ABC's Modern Family (2.8/8) outperformed the top-rated shows on each of the other nets by wide margins, leading CBS' Survivor and Criminal Minds by 27% (2.2/7 and 2.2/6 - tied), NBC's Chicago PD by 47% (1.9/6) and Fox's American Idol by 56% (1.8/6 - a new Wednesday low).

Quick Take for Wednesday, April 30, 2014 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

"Modern Family" is Wednesday's No. 1 TV Show for its 7th Straight Original

"The Middle" is No. 1 in its Slot for the 2nd Week in a Row with Adults 18-34

"Suburgatory" Beats CBS' "Survivor" at 8:30pm Among Women 18-34

ABC's "Modern Family" Doubles its Lead-in at 9pm to Dominate in Adults 18-49

Opposite Increased Original Competition, "Mixology" Holds Steady in Adults 18-34

ABC's "Nashville" Returns to Original for the First Time in 4 Weeks, Up Over the Prior Week's "On the Record" Special by 20% in Adults 18-49

ABC Wednesday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.5 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49):

ABC delivered Wednesday's No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49, with "Modern Family" ranking as the night's highest-rated program for its 7th consecutive original airing. On the night, ABC's "Modern Family" (2.8/8) outperformed the top-rated shows on each of the other nets by wide margins, leading CBS' "Survivor" and "Criminal Minds" by 27% (2.2/7 and 2.2/6 - tied), NBC's "Chicago PD" by 47% (1.9/6) and Fox's "American Idol" by 56% (1.8/6 - a new Wednesday low).

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m. - 7.1 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49):

At 8:00 p.m. against CBS' "Survivor" and Fox's "Idol," ABC's "The Middle" ranked No. 1 for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-34 (1.1/4-tie) and key Women: W18-34 (1.6/6) and W18-49 (2.2/7-tie). In addition, the ABC comedy tied "Idol" in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6) for No. 2 in the half-hour.

· The ABC comedy was up 4% in Total Viewers from its week-ago Fast Affiliate number (7.1 million vs. 6.8 million) and held steady with its preliminary Adult 18-49 rating (1.8/6).

"Suburgatory" (8:30-9:00 p.m. - 5.1 million and 1.4/4 in AD18-49):

At 8:30 p.m., "Suburgatory" took 2nd in its half-hour to "Idol" with Women 18-34 (1.2/4), beating "Survivor" by 9% (1.1/4) and NBC's "Revolution" by 20% (1.0/4). In addition, the ABC comedy tied the second half-hour of "Revolution" in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m. - 8.3 million and 2.8/8 in AD18-49):

Doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+100%), ABC's "Modern Family" (2.8/8) dominated its half-hour, outdelivering CBS' "Criminal Minds" by 33% (2.1/6), Fox's "American Idol" by 47% (1.9/5) and NBC's "L&O: SVU" by 65% (1.7/5).

"Mixology" (9:30-10:00 p.m. - 3.6 million and 1.3/4 in AD18-49):

Despite increased original competition in the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC's "Mixology" ran within 1-tenth week to week in Adults 18-34 (0.9/3).

"Nashville" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.5 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49):

During the 10 o'clock hour, returning to original for the first time in 4 weeks, ABC's "Nashville" was up over the prior week's "Nashville: On the Record" special by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3).

· On average, "Nashville" is ABC's top percentage gainer this season via TV Playback and Top 3 among all broadcast series, with originals shooting up 80% from a 1.5 L+SD rating to a 2.7 Live + 7 Day Adult 18-49 rating.

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 49% currently, from 47% at the same point in 2013. 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 for 04/30/14.