ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME Is #1 Drama on Sunday

For the 2nd week in a row (w/o 4/22/13), ABC (6.4 million) was the No. 2 most-watched TV network to CBS, outdrawing FOX by 5% (6.1 million) and NBC by 25% (5.1 million).

Up for the 2nd week in a row, ABC grew its Adult 18-49 number by 7% week to week (1.5/5 vs. 1.4/4).

Rankings: The Net aired 7 of the Top 20 broadcast series for the week in Adults 18-49, including 4 of the Top 10 dramas ("Scandal," "Grey's," "Castle" and "Once Upon a Time"), led by "Scandal" which hit a series high and was TV's No. 1 drama for the first time ever: "Scandal" - No. 6, "Grey's ?

Anatomy" - No. 10, "Castle" - No. 16, "DWTS" - No. 17, while "DWTS: The Results Show," "Once Upon a Time" and "Shark Tank" tied at No. 19. In addition, ABC delivered the top-rated 10 o'clock dramas with young adults on Monday ("Castle"), Tuesday ("Body of Proof") and Thursday ("Scandal"), as "Scandal" was the week's No. 1 regular 10:00 p.m. drama for its 10th straight original broadcast (on each week since its January return). The Net placed 3 of the week's Top 10 most-watched TV shows overall with "DWTS," "DWTS: The Results Show" and "Body of Proof."

Please Note: ABC's "The Middle," "Modern Family" and "Nashville" were in repeats during the week.

Monday
ABC was the most-watched TV network on Monday night and delivered the No. 2 position in Adults 18-49 (13.1 million and 2.2/6). "Dancing with the Stars" was up for the 2nd straight week in Total Viewers, while "Castle" gained viewers and young adults, once again pacing as Monday's most-watched scripted series with its 2nd-most-watched telecast this season. In addition, at 10:00 p.m. "Castle" Built on its lead-in to best NBC's "The Voice"-led "Revolution" in Adults 18-49 for the first time.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-10:01 p.m.)
Gaining viewers for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" finished No. 2 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. in Total Viewers (13.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6) to "The Voice," pacing within just 400,000 viewers of the NBC show (13.8 million vs. 14.2 million).

"Castle" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
Ranking No. 1 in the 10:00 p.m. hour, "Castle" outdrew NBC's "The Voice"-driven "Revolution" by a best-ever 5.9 million viewers (11.8 million vs. 5.9 million) and beat the NBC drama in Adults 18-49 (+15% - 2.3/6 vs. 2.0/6) for the first time ever. In fact the ABC drama has been the most-watched TV show in its time period for its 7 consecutive first-run airings and stood as Monday's No. 1 scripted series for its 6th consecutive telecast. Growing week to week (10.2 million and 2.0/5 on 4/15/13) in Total Viewers (+16%) and Adults 18-49 (+15%), "Castle" drew its 2nd-largest-audience this season, while matching a season high in the key adult demo.

Tuesday
With "Splash," "DWTS: The Results Show" and another winning performance by "Body of Proof," ABC was the 2nd-most-watched net on Tuesday, outdrawing NBC's "The Voice"-led original lineup by 2.8 million viewers (9.0 million vs. 6.2 million). ABC's "Body of Proof" won Tuesday's 10:00 p.m. hour in Total Viewers (5th week in a row) and hit a season high in Adults 18-49.

"Splash" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
In the 8:00 p.m. hour against CBS' "NCIS" and NBC's "The Voice," ABC freshman "Splash" gained audience from start to finish and delivered more viewers than Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" for the 6th week in a row (4.8 million vs. 4.7 million).

"Splash" held even week to week in Adults 18-49 (1.1/3) and grew by 17% in Adults 18-34.

"DWTS: The Results Show" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Jumping from its lead-in, ABC's "DWTS: The Results Show" took second place in the 9 o'clock hour with viewers (12.6 million) and young adults (2.0/5). Victor Ortiz was the fifth celebrity to leave the competition this season.

The ABC dancing results program was up over its comparable fifth telecast of Season 15 by 10% in Total Viewers and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (11.5 million and 1.8/5 on 10/30/12).

"Body of Proof" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Body of Proof" ranked as the No. 1 series, outdelivering runner-up CBS' "Golden Boy" by 1.4 million viewers (9.3 million vs. 7.9 million), by 10% in Adults 25-54 (2.3/6 vs. 2.1/5) and by 14% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 1.4/4). It was the ABC drama's 5th straight Tuesday to rank as the most-watched TV show in its slot.

"Body of Proof" was up week to week in Total Viewers (+4%), Adults 25-54 (+15%) and Adults 18-49 (+14%). In fact, the show equaled a season high in Adults 18-49 and marked its 2nd-strongest performance this season with Viewers and Adults 25-54.

Thursday
ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (2.7/8) and "Scandal" (2.8/8) returned for their first original telecasts in 3 weeks, standing as Thursday's Top 2 dramas. In fact, "Scandal" matched "American Idol" on the night in Adults 18-49 and returned up to match a series high.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in (+145%) at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (2.7/8) shot up to rank as the No. 1 series in its hour for its 4th straight original, beating CBS' "Person of Interest" by 13% (2.4/7), Fox's "Idol"-led "Glee" by 50% (1.8/5) and NBC's comedies by 80% ("The Office"/"Parks and Recreation" = 1.5/4). "Grey's" returned within 1-tenth of a rating point of its last first-run broadcast on 4/4/13.

"Scandal" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Building on its "Grey's" lead-in for the first time ever and up 8% over its last original airing, ABC's "Scandal" took full control of its 10 o'clock drama competition in Adults 18-49 (2.8/8), beating CBS' "Elementary" by a best-ever 40% (2.0/6) and nearly tripling NBC's "Hannibal" (+180% - 1.0/3) In fact in Adults 18-49, "Scandal" has now finished as the No. 1 TV series in its time slot on each of its last 13 original telecasts.

Continuing to trend well ahead of its freshman season, "Scandal" was up sharply from its same night year-ago performance in viewers (+14% - 7.9 million vs. 6.9 million) and young adults (+40% - 2.8/8 vs. 2.0/6). The ABC drama equaled a series high in Adults 18-49 and set new series bests with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

"Scandal" was once again Thursday's No. 1 most social series during primetime, leading No. 2 "American Idol" by 79% (175,000 tweets vs. 98,000 tweets).

Friday
ABC ranked No. 1 among the broadcasters on Friday in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4-tied), outdelivering NBC by 44% (0.8/3) and FOX by 63% (0.8/3). ABC's "Shark Tank" once again finished as the No. 1 series on the night in Adults 18-49, with an 18% advantage over runner-up "Undercover Boss."

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
More than tripling its lead-in (+233%), ABC's "Shark Tank" shot up to dominate the 9 o'clock hour over original dramas, outperforming NBC's "Grimm" by 54% (1.3/4), CBS' "Vegas" by 100% (1.0/3) and Fox's "Touch" by 233% (0.6/3). The ABC unscripted show was Friday's top-rated TV series in Adults 18-49 for the 5th time in its last 6 original telecasts. Spiking year to year, "Shark Tank" was up by double digits over its delivery on the same night last year in Total Viewers (+22%) and Adults 18-49 (+43%). Season to date, the show is up 17% in Adults 18-49, delivering its best season ever.

"20/20" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)
In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "20/20" defeated its newsmagazine competition by strong margins, leading NBC's "Rock Center with BrIan Williams" by 21% in Total Viewers (4.6 million vs. 3.8 million), by 33% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 0.6/2) and by 42% in Adults 25-54 (1.7/5 vs. 1.2/3). "20/20" reported on surviving, from random violence and acts of terror to massive highway accidents and the madness of crowds and stampedes.

Saturday
"Bet on Your Baby" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
For the 3rd straight week, ABC's "Bet On Your Baby" outdelivered NBC's original "Smash" in Saturday's 8 o'clock hour, beating the high-profile NBC drama by 32% in Total Viewers (2.5 million vs. 1.9 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (0.6/2 vs. 0.4/2). In fact, "Bet On Your Baby" was the No. 1 regular program in The Hour with viewers and young adults.

Spiking week to week in Teens 12-17 (+40%) and Kids 2-11 (+33%), "Bet on Your Baby" delivered a series high with teens.

Sunday
"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Gaining 123% week to week, ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" won the 7 o'clock hour in Adult 18-49 (1.6/5). "AFHV" delivered an 8-week high in young adults - since 3/13/13.

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)
Building 25% on its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "Once Upon a Time" surged to rank as the top-rated broadcast drama on Sunday night (2.0/6). "Once Upon a Time" paced within 1-tenth of a rating point week to week. The ABC sophomore drama was the No. 1 most social broadcast series on Sunday night (27,000 tweets).

"Revenge" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)
Returning to original for the first time since March (since 3/31/13), ABC's "Revenge" came back with a 13% increase in Adults 18-49 (1.7/5 vs. 1.5/3) from its last first-run airing to stand as the No. 2 broadcast drama of the night. During the 9 o'clock hour, "Revenge" (1.7/5) beat out CBS' season finale of "The Good Wife" (1.6/4) and the first hour of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" (1.5/4) in Adults 18-49, while winning its slot among Women 25-54.

WEEK NO. 31: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 FOX 1.9 No.1 CBS 8,710,000
No.2 CBS 1.7 No.2 ABC 6,440,000
No.3 NBC 1.6 No.3 FOX 6,060,000
No.4 ABC 1.5 No.4 NBC 5,080,000
No.5 CW 0.5 No.5 CW 1,370,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 04/22/13.

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