Quick Take for Thursday, June 5, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

2008 NBA Finals Game 1 Coverage Makes ABC No. 1 on Thursday in Viewers And Adults 18-49, Delivering Substantial Increases Over the Year-Ago Evening

ABC Posts its Top-Rated Thursday Among Young Men Since September 2005

Lakers-Celtics 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 Dominates the Primetime Landscape, Standing as Thursday's No. 1 TV Program in Viewers and Across All Key Adults

Year to Year, Game 1 of the Finals Jumps by 4.2 Million Viewers and by 54% In Adults 18-49, Representing the Strongest Start for the NBA Finals Since 2004

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

With coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, ABC won Thursday night in Total Viewers (9.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/12). Beating second-place Fox with a 2-hour installment of "So You Think You Can Dance" during primetime by 12% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/12 vs. 3.3/10), ABC marked its 7th consecutive week as the No. 1 network on Thursday in the key young adult sales demo.

* ABC's numbers increased substantially over the same night last year with coverage of the opening game for the 2007 NBA Finals, up by 2.1 million viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (7.4 million and 2.9/10 on 6/7/07).

* The Network marked its highest-rated Thursday among young men (M18-34 - 4.6/12 and M18-49 - 4.9/16) since September 2005, with the Thursday season opener of "Monday Night Football" on 9/8/05.

"2008 NBA Finals Game 1" (9:06 - 11:59 p.m. E.T.)

Featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, ABC's 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 dominated its primetime competition and stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (13.4 million) and each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (5.8/13), A18-49 (5.4/17) and A25-54 (5.7/16). Boston took the opening game by a score of 98-88 to lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.

* The opening game of the '08 NBA Finals was up by 4.2 million viewers and by 54% in Adults 18-49 from the start of the year-ago '07 Finals (9.2 million & 3.7/12 on 6/7/07). In viewers and young adults, it represented the strongest start for the NBA Championships in 4 years - since Game 1 of the 2004 series on 6/6/04. In fact among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 it was the second-best opener for the series in the 6 years that ABC has been carrying the NBA championships - beginning in 2003.

* Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals delivered a 22.8/40 Household number in Los Angeles (12.4/43 in AD18-49) and a 21.7/37 in Boston (13.3/27 in AD18-49). A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating trends based on the Live + Same Day data stream may be somewhat distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped from 16% at the same point in 2006-07, up to more than 24% currently. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 6/5/08. Local averages based on N.S.I. LPM data, 6/5/08.