L+7 Ratings: ABC's HTGAWM is the Week's #1 Biggest Gainer in TV Playback in AD18-49

Live + 7 Day ratings for the week of 9/29/14 (Week #2):

During week 2 of the new TV season, ABC emerged as the #1 non-sports network among Adults 18-49 (2.9 rating) in the L+7 numbers, beating both CBS (2.7) and NBC (2.7) by 7% each. For the 2nd week in a row, ABC shot up a full rating point over its Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 rating (1.9 rating in L+SD to a 2.9 in L+7) in the non-sports averages, making the Net the #1 biggest actual gainer in TV playback. Growing to a 2.9 L+7 rating among Adults 18-49 in the non-sports numbers, ABC was even with the year-ago week (2.9 on w/o 9/30/13), while CBS (-7%), NBC (-18%) and Fox (-23%) all posted losses.

The second episode of ABC's How to Get Away With Murder was the week's #1 biggest gainer in Adults 18-49 (+2.3 rating points), topping the L+7 increase for runner-up CBS' The Big Bang Theory (+2.2 rating points). In fact, ABC had 2 of the week's 3 largest gainers in TV playback, with HTGAWM - #1 and Modern Family (+2.1 rating points) - #3.

With HTGAWM and Modern Family, ABC claimed 6 of the Top 10 playback gainers in Adults 18-49 (the most for any network): Scandal (+1.5 rating points), Grey's Anatomy (+1.4), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+1.3) and black-ish (+1.3). On a percentage basis, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+76%), HTGAWM (+72%) and Forever (+71%) all ranked in the Top 10 among the broadcast networks.

All 3 of ABC's freshman series saw their playback gains improve in week 2 among Adults 18-49: black-ish (+52% week 2 vs. +45% week 1), Forever (+71% vs. +53%) and HTGAWM (+72% vs. +61%).

In the final Live + 7 Day ratings for the week, ABC claimed 6 of the Top 15 highest-rated entertainment series among Adults 18-49 (the most for any network), including the #1 new show (HTGAWM) and the #1 new comedy (black-ish): Modern Family (5.7 rating) moved up to #2 (from #4), HTGAWM (5.5) jumped up to #3 (from #6), Scandal (4.8) - #6, Once Upon a Time (4.4) - #11, Grey's Anatomy (4.0) - #12 and black-ish (3.8) - #14.

· ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. grew to a 3.0 rating among Adults 18-49 in L7 to nearly tie CBS' NCIS: New Orleans (3.1 rating) in the Tuesday 9pm hour. In the L+SD ratings, S.H.I.E.L.D. trailed the new CBS drama by 6-tenths of a rating point among young adults.

Among Adults 18-49 in the L7 ratings, ABC claimed the #1 TV show on Wednesday with Modern Family (5.7 rating), the Top 3 series on Thursday with HTGAWM (5.7), Scandal (4.8) and Grey's Anatomy (4.0), the #1 show on Friday with Shark Tank (2.4) and the #1 series on Sunday with Once Upon a Time (4.4).

Season-to-Date TV Playback (9/22/14-10/5/14):

Based on TV playback data for the first 2 weeks of the 2014-15 season, ABC claims 2 of the Top 5 biggest playback gainers among Adults 18-49: How to Get Away with Murder (+2.3 rating points-tie) and Modern Family (+2.2 rating points). In fact, excluding the single 8:30pm telecast of CBS' The Big Bang Theory, ABC's HTGAWM is the season's #1 biggest gainer in TV playback among young adults (tie).

In the L7 ratings, ABC's HTGAWM is the season's #1 drama and #1 new TV show among Adults 18-49 (5.8 rating), leading runner-up Fox's Gotham by 7% (5.4).

Nearly all of ABC's returning series are seeing bigger percentage gains among Adults 18-49 from L+SD to L+7 this year than last: DWTS (+16% vs. +14%), The Goldbergs (+39% vs. +38%), Grey's Anatomy (+54% vs. +52%), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (+83% vs. +55%), The Middle (+35% vs. +21%), Modern Family (+59% vs. +48%), Revenge (+69% vs. +52%), Scandal (+44% vs. 36%) and Shark Tank (+39% vs. +25%).

Source: The Nielsen Company, as dated. Based on regular, original telecasts only.