ABC TV Ratings for Thursday, March 15, 2012

Missing premiered last night to okay ratings, Grey’s Anatomy was down, and Private Practice was up just a bit. ABC has issued a press release with their spin on the numbers.

To see the week-to-week ratings trends, averages, rankings, and more, check out our ratings pages for these shows: Missing, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice.

Here’s the press release:

“Missing” Opens with ABC’s Top Audience in 14 Months during Thursday’s 8pm Hour

Some early info on ABC’s Thursday, ahead of the regular press release.

With the series debut of Missing, Grey’s and Private Practice, ABC earned second place on Thursday night to an Idol-led Fox in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

· ABC marked its most-watched Thursday in 11 weeks and equaled its top Adult 18-49 number on the night since early February – since 1/5/12 and 2/9/12.

At 8pm opposite Fox’s American Idol, ABC’s Missing opened a strong #2, more than doubling the audience (+136%) of NBC’s original comedy block (Community return/30 Rock slot premiere). The ABC drama premiere also took second place in the hour in Adults 25-54 and key Women (W18-49/W25-54). The show gained audience from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

· Despite airing on the first Thursday after the change to Daylight Savings time, as overall TV usage levels declined, Missing attracted ABC’s biggest audience in the time period in 14 months – since 1/13/11. In fact it was TV’s most-watched drama debut during the opening hour of primetime on any night in 1-1/2 years – since 9/28/10.

· Missing represented a big improvement for ABC’s in the hour, boosting its time period by 4.7 million viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49 over the Net’s season average with regular original programming.

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy moved up to a dominant #1 in the 9 o’clock hour, leading its nearest competition (Fox) by 1.0 million viewers and by 36% in Adults 18-49.

· Up by 7% in viewers over its last original telecast, Grey’s generated its biggest audience in 5 weeks – since 2/9/12.

ABC’s Private Practice finished won the 10 o’clock hour, dominating NBC’s Awake by 37% in Total Viewers and by 38% in Adults 18-49.

· Gaining 11% in Total Viewers and 5% in Adults 18-49 over its last original three weeks ago, Private Practice drew its 2nd-largest audience in more than 2 months – since 1/5/12.