Categories: TV NewsTV Ratings

Ratings Update: “Scandal” Hits Season Low in Demo, “Grey’s Anatomy” Leads in Viewership

Update: Thursday’s final broadcast ratings reveal that “Grey’s Anatomy” drew a larger audience than lead-out “Scandal” for the first time this season.

Thursday’s edition of “Grey’s” drew a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating with 8.18 million viewers. Both numbers were up from those of last week’s broadcast, which posted a 2.1 with 7.73 million.

“Scandal” followed with a season low 2.3 adults 18-49 rating and 8.06 million viewers. The rating trailed last week’s 2.4, but the audience total was up from last week’s 7.79 million viewership mark.

“American Crime” closed ABC’s night with an improved 1.3 and 5.56 million viewers. Last week’s episode drew a 1.2 with 5.54 million.
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Not merely responsible for a season low in the adults 18-49 demo, last week’s “Scandal” was the least-watched episode in more than two years.

Per fast national data, this week’s edition of the ABC drama fared even worse in the adults 18-49 demo. It did, however, enjoy a slight uptick in the viewership column.

But even the latter rose comes with a thorn: despite posting a week-over-week viewership gain, “Scandal,” for the first time this season, failed to draw a larger audience than its veteran lead-in “Grey’s Anatomy.”

For the first time this season, “Grey’s” bested “Scandal” in viewership

Fast national data says Thursday’s “Scandal” drew a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating with 8.05 million viewers this week. “Grey’s Anatomy” delivered a slightly lesser 2.2 adults 18-49 rating but a slightly stronger 8.16 million viewership mark.

While “Scandal” had not spent the entirety of the season as ABC’s most-watched Thursday drama–the first few “How to Get Away with Murder” episodes outdrew “Scandal”–it had not once trailed “Grey’s” this year.

Last week’s editions of “Scandal” and “Grey’s” respectively delivered a 2.4 with 7.79 million and a 2.1 with 7.73 million in the final ratings report.

— ABC closed its night with “American Crime” (precisely even with last week’s 1.2 rating and 5.54 million viewership mark).

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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