ABC Ratings: ‘American Crime’ and ‘black-ish’ both see spikes

ABC overall on Wednesday  (8:00-11:00 p.m. – 6.4 million and 1.9/6 in AD18-49):
With its Wednesday comedies returning to originals for the first time in 4 weeks (since 12/9/15) and the Season 2 premiere of “American Crime,” ABC ran a strong second on Wednesday in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6) to the 2-hour final season premiere of “American Idol” on Fox. Each of ABC’s comedies ranked as the No. 1 scripted shows in their respective half-hours with Adults 18-49.  

• ABC was up from its most recent Wednesday of originals by 12% in Adults 18-49, matching a best-since-premiere number on the night with regular programming – since 9/23/15.

“The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m. – 7.8 million and 2.1/7 in AD18-49): At 8:00 p.m., ABC’s “The Middle” beat CBS’ time-slot premiere of ”2 Broke Girls” by 24% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.7/6) and also topped the CBS comedy in Total Viewers (+24% – 7.8 million vs. 6.3 million). “The Middle” was up from its last original in Adults 18-49 (+5% – 2.1/7 vs. 2.0/7) to match its 2nd-highest rating this season.

“The Goldbergs” (8:30-9:00 p.m. – 6.6 million and 2.1/7 in AD18-49): At 8:30 p.m., ABC’s “The Goldbergs” defeated CBS’ premiere of “Mike & Molly” by an even greater 31% in Adults 18-49 (2.1/7 vs. 1.6/5). “The Goldbergs” returned up in Adults 18-49 (+5% – 2.1/7 vs. 2.0/7) with its best rating since mid-November – since 11/18/15.

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m. – 8.3 million and 2.7/9 in AD18-49): At 9:00 p.m., ABC’s “Modern Family” spiked 29% from its lead-in (2.7/9 vs. 2.1/7) and is projected to rank as Wednesday’s No. 1 show in Adults 18-49 in the Live + 7 Day ratings. “Modern Family” built on its last first-run telecast in Adults 18-49 (+4% – 2.7/9 vs. 2.6/9) for its highest number since mid-November – since 11/18/15.

“black-ish” (9:30-10:00 p.m. – 6.3 million and 2.1/6 in AD18-49): In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC’s “black-ish” shot up 24% from its last original in Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.7/5) and added 5% in Total Viewers (6.3 million vs. 6.0 million), earning best-since-premiere numbers on both counts – since 9/23/15.

“American Crime” (10:00-11:00 p.m. – 4.7 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49): On its new night, the second season premiere of “American Crime” was up by double digits from its Thursday finale out of the “Scandal” closer last season in Total Viewers (+12% – 4.7 million vs. 4.2 million), Adults 18-49 (+20% – 1.2/4 vs. 1.0/3) and Adults 25-54 (+33% – 1.6/5 vs. 1.2/4).  Despite the move, “American Crime” topped its final 7 telecasts of Season 1 across all 3 measures – since 3/26/15.

• The “American Crime” premiere matched season highs for ABC in Wednesday’s 10 o’clock hour with a series among Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.