ABC Beats NBC with Will and Grace on Season Premiere Thursday - Grey's Returns at 8-Month Highs

ABC Thursday Prime (8-11pm - 6.6 million and 1.9/7 in AD18-49): Opposite a big Thursday NFL game between The Bears and The Packers on CBS, ABC was the non-sports leader in Adults 18-49 (1.9/7), beating NBC on the night with the high-rated Will & Grace premiere by 19% (1.9/7 vs. 1.6/6) and more than doubling Fox with its dramas (+111% over Gotham/The Orville = 0.9/4). With its Thursday dramas consistently delivering big increases in TV Playback, ABC will considerably close the Adult 18-49 competitive gap on the night with CBS in Live + 3 Day and Live + 7 Day ratings. ABC's How to Get Away with Murder was one of last season's biggest gainers in Live + 7 Day TV playback, doubling (+100%) its Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 rating and growing by +3.3 million Total Viewers in the finalized L+7 playback numbers. In addition last season, Grey's added +1.4 Adult 18-49 rating points to its L+SD number in playback to average a 3.5 rating for the season in Live +7.

· From 8-10pm, the 14th season premiere of Grey's Anatomy made ABC the #1 non-sports network in the 2-hour time period with Total Viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/9) over NBC and Fox. Grey's jumped 15% over its May finale in Adults 18-49 (2.0/9 on 5/18/17), topping its last 13 episodes for its highest rating since the beginning of February - since 2/2/17. The ABC drama also marked its most watched telecast overall since February - since 2/9/17. Grey's was Thursday's #1 TV show in Women 18-34, beating Will & Grace premiere by 75% (2.8/13 vs. 1.6/7).

..more to come

Quick Take for Thursday, September 28, 2017 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC's TGIT Beats NBC With Its 'Will & Grace' Opener on Premiere Thursday

ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' Returns for Its 14th Season With Near 8-Month Highs

Thursday (9/28/17) - ABC Viewer and Adult 18-49 Projections Plus MP+35 Day Rating

"Grey's": L3 = 10.5 million/3.4 rating, L7 = 11.2 million/3.7 rating and MP+35 = 5.2 rating

"HTGAWM": L3 = 6.3 million/1.9 rating, L7 = 7.0 million/2.2 rating and MP+35 = 2.7 rating

Live + Same Day Results:

ABC Thursday Prime (8:00-11:00 p.m. - 6.6 million and 1.9/7 in AD18-49):

Opposite a big Bears-Packers NFL matchup on Thursday on CBS, ABC was the non-sports leader in Adults 18-49 (1.9/7), beating NBC on the night with the high-rated "Will & Grace" premiere by 19% (1.9/7 vs. 1.6/6) and more than doubling Fox with its dramas (+111% over "Gotham"/"The Orville" = 0.9/4). With its Thursday dramas consistently delivering big increases in TV Playback, ABC will considerably close the Adult 18-49 competitive gap on the night with CBS in Live + 3 Day and Live + 7 Day ratings. ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" was one of last season's biggest gainers in Live + 7 Day TV playback, doubling (+100%) its Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 rating and growing by +3.3 million Total Viewers in the finalized L+7 playback numbers. In addition last season, "Grey's" added +1.4 Adult 18-49 rating points to its L+SD number in playback to average a 3.5 rating for the season in Live +7.

· From 8:00-10:00 p.m., the 14th season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" made ABC the No. 1 non-sports network in the 2-hour time period with Total Viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/9). "Grey's" jumped 15% over its May finale in Adults 18-49 (2.0/9 on 5/18/17), topping its last 13 episodes for its highest rating since the beginning of February - since 2/2/17. The ABC drama also marked its most watched telecast overall since February - since 2/9/17. "Grey's" stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in Women 18-34, beating the "Will & Grace" premiere by 75% (2.8/13 vs. 1.6/7).

Projections Rationale:

Lifts vs. L+SD are based on 2017-18 season averages for originals (excluding the premiere).

Returning shows: Profile based on same show (either premiere or averages for originals).

New series: Based on similar series.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings for 9/28/17.