Series debut of Charlie’s Angels scored big gains for ABC.
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Charlie’s Angels qualified as ABC’s highest-rated scripted series telecast in the hour since Fall 2009 – since FlashForward on 10/29/09 and 11/19/09, respectively.
Up against stiff competition on the opening Thursday of the season, ABC marked its strongest performance on the night with regular programming in nearly 9 months among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 – since 1/6/11.
Opposite much greater competition in the 8 o’clock hour year to year, with the entry of Fox’s The X Factor into the slot and back-to-back telecasts of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, the series debut of Charlie’s Angels scored big gains for ABC over the year-ago season-premiere Thursday with viewers (+67%) and young adults (+31%).
From 8-9pm, the new ABC drama more than doubled the overall audience of NBC’s established comedies (Community/Parks and Recreation), while pulling in 11% more Adults 18-49.
Building sharply on its lead-in (+95%) against the second hour of The X Factor, the 8th-season premiere of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (9-11pm) finished as Thursday’s dominant #1 drama in Adults 18-49, topping CBS’ series debut of Person of Interest (9-10pm) by 32%, CBS’ season premiere of The Mentalist (10-11pm) by 46% and NBC’s series debut of Prime Suspect (10-11pm) by 128%.
Building audience from its first hour to its second hour, The ABC drama ran a strong #1 during the 10 o’clock hour, leading its nearest competition (CBS’ The Mentalist) by wide margins with Adults 18-49 (+50%) and Adults 25-54 (+23%).
Grey’s Anatomy surged by 14% among Adults 18-49 over where it finished out last season in its May finale, hitting the series’ best number since March – since 3/31/11.
Grey’s produced ABC’s highest Adult 18-49 number with scripted programming in the 2-hour time period in 1 year – since 9/23/10.
DVR Playback Note: Grey’s Anatomy stood as TV’s 2nd-biggest gainer via time-shifted viewing last season among Adults 18-49 (behind only Modern Family), jumping by 2.9 million viewers and 1.4 rating points among young adults (+34%) from Live + Same Day to the finalized Live + 7 Day numbers.
(source: ABC)
