Thursday Night Ratings: SCANDAL Premieres With Series Highs In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

Photo Credit: ABC

ABC’s Scandal opened its 3rd season at series highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Check out a roundup of ratings reports below for Thursday, October 3rd.

From ABC:
ABC Thursday Prime (8-11 p.m. – 8.5 million and 2.8/8 in AD18-49): Featuring a SCANDAL recap special, GREY'S ANATOMY and the 3rd season premiere of SCANDAL (opened at series highs), ABC ran neck-and-neck with CBS’ all-original lineup for #1 Adults 18-49 (2.8/8 vs. 2.9/9), while defeating originals on Fox by 56% (1.8/5) and on NBC by 75% (1.6/5). The Net was up 8% over the year-ago night in Adults 18-49 (2.6/7 on 10/4/12), delivering its strongest non-sports Thursday since the beginning of November – since 11/01/12.

SCANDAL: THE SECRET IS OUT special (8-9 p.m. – 5.7 million and 1.6/5 in AD18-49): Starting off the night at 8pm, ABC’s SCANDAL: THE SECRET IS OUT series recap special beat out NBC’s comedies by strong margins (PARKS AND RECREATION/WELCOME TO THE FAMILY series debut = 3.4 million and 1.3/4) in Total Viewers (+68%) and Adults 18-49 (+23%).

GREY'S ANATOMY (9-10 p.m. – 9.4 million and 3.0/8 in AD18-49): At 9pm, ABC’s GREY'S ANATOMY nearly doubled its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+88%) to lead its hour by 11% over CBS’ comedies (The Crazy Ones/Two and a Half Men = 2.7/7), by 76% over NBC’s comedies (Sean Saves the World debut/The Michael J Fox Show = 1.7/5) and by 88% over Fox’s Glee (1.6/5). GREY'S was up over its week-earlier season premiere in Total Viewers to deliver the series’ most-watched telecast in almost 1 year – since 10/18/12.

SCANDAL Season 3 Premiere (10-11 p.m. – 10.5 million and 3.6/10 in AD18-49): Building on its GREY'S lead-in by best-ever margins in viewers (+12%) and young adults (+20%), ABC’s SCANDAL opened its 3rd season at series highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In Adults 18-49, SCANDAL was up 71% over its year-ago season premiere (2.1/6 on 9/27/12) and surpassed its previous series highs by 13% (3.2/9 set on its final two telecasts last season). SCANDAL was the #2 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49, behind only CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. SCANDAL generated ABC’s best numbers for a Thursday 10pm series telecast since January 2010 in viewers and since November 2010 in young adults – since 1/14/10 and 11/4/10, respectively.

SCANDAL Social Activity: The SCANDAL premiere delivered 712,877 tweets, which was the show’s highest social delivery to date and stood as the #1 most social series on Thursday night. The premiere was up 22% from May’s season finale (583,111 tweets) and up 714% from last fall’s premiere (87,525 tweets).

From CBS:
THE MILLERS, CBS's new Thursday comedy, opened strong, winning its time period in viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for Oct. 3.

THE BIG BANG THEORY was first in viewers (17.75m), adults 25-54 (6.6/19) and adults 18-49 (5.0/16). THE BIG BANG THEORY was the night's #1 program in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.

At 8:30 PM, the series premiere of THE MILLERS was first in viewers (13.15m), adults 25-54 (4.5/12) and adults 18-49 (3.3/10). THE MILLERS was the night's #1 series premiere in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49.

At 9:00 PM, THE CRAZY ONES was first in viewers (11.76m), adults 25-54 (4.0/10) and second in adults 18-49 (2.9/08, -0.1 behind ABC).

TWO AND A HALF MEN was second in viewers (9.26m), adults 25-54 (3.4/08) and adults 18-49 (2.4/07).

At 10:00 PM, ELEMENTARY was second in viewers (9.24m), adults 25-54 (2.8/07) and adults 18-49 (2.0/06).

For the night, CBS was first in viewers (11.73m), adults 25-54 (4.0/10) and adults 18-49 (2.9/09) for the second consecutive Thursday this season.

Updated Thursday ratings will be available later today.

Editor's Note: Television viewing on platforms such as DVR, video-on-demand and online streaming continues to grow at a fast pace. Last season during premiere week, Live+7 CBS audiences grew 20% over Live+SD in total viewers, up from 17% in 2012. In A18-49, Live+7 levels grew 29% from Live+SD, up from 23% one year ago. Additionally, many CBS shows experienced as much as a 50% increase in total viewers once full 30-day multi-platform audiences were accounted for. In an effort to quantify how much non-linear viewing adds to Live+SD audiences, CBS Research will provide estimates for series which will include DVR playback as well as multi-platform viewership.

From NBC:
Thursday Results (NBC carried the Bills-Browns NFL game in Cleveland):

· The debut of "Sean Saves the World" (1.6/4 in 18-49, 4.9 million viewers overall from 9:01-9:31 p.m. ET) is currently jumping by 33% versus its lead-in in 18-49 rating (1.6 vs. 1.2) and by 48% in total viewers (4.9 million vs. 3.3 million), pending updates. Versus NBC's premiere in this slot last season, "Sean" is up 14% in total viewers (4.895 million vs. 4.278 million for the year-ago "Office" season premiere on Sept. 20, 2012), pending updates,

· Versus NBC's average in the time slot last season, "Sean" is currently running within a tenth of a rating point in adults 18-49 (1.6 vs. 1.7) and is up 35% in total viewers (4.895 million vs. 3.639 million, L+SD non-sports), pending updates,

· "The Michael J. Fox Show" (1.9/5 in 18-49, 5.9 million viewers overall from 9:31-10:01 p.m. ET) built on its lead-in in every key ratings category and is up versus lead-in by 19% in 18-49 rating and 21% in total viewers.

· Versus the same night last year, "Michael J. Fox" is currently matching NBC's 18-49 rating in the time slot (1.9) and is up 68% in total viewers (5.920 million vs. 3.530 million on Oct. 4, 2012). "The Michael J. Fox Show" is also currently improving on NBC's slot average during the 2012-13 season by 36% (1.9 vs. 1.4 in 18-49) and by 92% in total viewers (5.920 million vs. 3.091 million).

· "Parks and Recreation" (1.3/4 in 18-49, 3.5 million viewers overall from 8-8:31 p.m. ET) is currently matching last week's season-premiere rating in 18-49 and is up 6% in total viewers (3.463 million vs. 3.270 million), pending updates. In the time period, "Parks" currently ranks #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in men 18-34 and tied for #2 in men 18-49.

· The debut of "Welcome to the Family" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall from 8:31-9:01 p.m. ET) retained 92% of its 18-49 lead-in from "Parks" in 18-49 and 96% in total viewers, pending updates.

· In total viewers, "Welcome to the Family" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 3.316 million viewers overall) is currently up 7% versus the year-ago slot premiere ("Up All Night," 3.110 million on Sept. 20, 2012). In 18-49, "WTTF" is within a tenth of a point of the year-ago "Up All Night" premiere (1.2 vs. 1.3), pending updates.

· From 10:01-11 p.m., "Parenthood" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 4.8 million viewers overall) is currently up week to week in 18-49 rating by 6% (1.7 vs. 1.6). Versus NBC's slot result on the same night last season, "Parenthood" is up by 70% in 18-49 (1.7 vs. 1.0 for "Rock Center") and up 42% in total viewers (4.837 million vs. 3.399 million).

· "Parks and Recreation" is the #3 most upscale primetime series on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox this season among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes, indexing last week at a 161 (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes), ranking it behind only "60 Minutes" and "Modern Family."

· Note that in "Live Plus Three Day" ratings last week: "Parks and Recreation" added 37% or 0.47 of a point to its next-day "live plus same day" 18-49 rating (to a 1.74 in L+3 from a 1.27 in L+SD) and in total viewers, added 29% or 935,000 persons (4.205 million vs. 3.270 million).

· "The Michael J. Fox Show" is the #2 most upscale new comedy on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox this season among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes, indexing last week at a 132 (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes), behind only "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

· Last week's series premiere of "The Michael J. Fox Show" posted a 2.96 rating in adults 18-49, "live plus three days," up 0.80 of a point or +37% versus its 2.16 in "live plus same day." The 0.80 increase tops the L+3 gains for all NBC comedy debuts last season. In total viewers, "The Michael J. Fox Show" delivered 9.958 million viewers, up 33% or 2.455 million viewers from its 7.503 million in L+SD.

· "Parenthood" is the #2 most upscale drama on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox this season among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes, indexing last week at a 141 (with 100 representing an average concentration of those homes), ranking it behind only "Nashville."

· Last week's fifth season premiere of "Parenthood" grew by 0.88 of a rating point or 54% in L+3 versus L+SD, to a 2.51 from a 1.63. The 0.88 increase is the biggest L+3 lift ever for "Parenthood." In total viewers, the "Parenthood" premiere increased by 2.218 million persons or 44%, to 7.274 million in L+3 from 5.056 million in L+SD.

From FutonCritic:
FOX (5.774 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.8, #3) with new episodes from "The X Factor" (6.999 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 2.0, #T7) and "Glee" (4.549 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 1.6, #T11).

The return of "The Vampire Diaries" (2.551 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 1.2, #T15) and the launch of "The Originals" (2.146 million viewers, #17; adults 18-49: 0.9, #17) on The CW (2.348 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) closed out the night. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Diaries" delivered a 1.8 rating at 8:00/7:00c and "Originals" a 1.4 rating at 9:00/8:00c.