Quick Take for Tuesday, June 10, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)

With Another Big Turnout for the 2008 NBA Finals, ABC is No. 1 on Tuesday in Viewers and Young Adults, Snapping Fox's 21-Week Winning Streak on the Night

NBA Finals Drives ABC to its Highest-Rated Tuesday Since January 2006 Among Men 18-34 and Since June 2006 with Men 18-49 and Men 25-54

For the 3rd Time in as Many Broadcasts, the 2008 NBA Finals Lead ABC to a Nightly Victory and Ranks as the Night's No. 1 TV Show in Viewers and All Key Adult Demos

Game 3 of the '08 Finals is the Strongest Non-Series-Clinching NBA Game in 4 Years

The Finals Jump 52% in Viewers and 58% in Adults 18-49 Year to Year, the Top Championship Series Since 2004 and the 2nd Highest in ABC's 6 Years of Coverage

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

With another strong turnout for the 2008 NBA Finals (Los Angeles-Boston Game 3), ABC delivered a definitive Tuesday victory, beating its nearest primetime competition by 7% in Total Viewers (9.8 million vs. 9.2 million - CBS) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/12 vs. 3.3/10 - Fox). In fact ABC has been the No. 1 network on all 3 nights with coverage of the '08 NBA Championship Series on both Nielsen measures. By ranking No. 1 on the evening in the key sales demo, ABC snapped Fox's 21-week Tuesday night winning streak.

* ABC scored its highest-rated Tuesday since January 2006 with Men 18-34 (5.2/18) and since June 2006 with Men 18-49 (5.0/16) and Men 25-54 (5.2/15) - since 1/3/06 and 6/20/06, respectively.

* ABC's Tuesday numbers surged ahead of the same night last year, when it carried the third game for the 2007 NBA Finals, by 2.9 million viewers and by 44% in Adults 18-49 (6.9 million and 2.7/9 on 6/12/07).

"2008 NBA Finals Game 3" (9:04 - 11:59 p.m. E.T.)

ABC's broadcast of the '08 NBA Finals Game 3 overshadowed its primetime competition from 9:00-11:00 p.m. to qualify as Tuesday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (14.5 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (6.3/20), A18-49 (6.0/18) and A25-54 (6.2/17). It was the 3rd consecutive telecast for the Finals to stand as the evening's No. 1 television show in viewers and all key adults. The Los Angeles Lakers won Game 3 by a score of 87-81, making the best-of-seven series 2-1, in Boston's favor.

* The strongest game so far of 2008 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Game 3 qualified as the biggest non-series-clinching NBA Finals contest in 4 years - since Game 4 of the 2004 Finals on 6/13/04. Game 3 tallied year-to-year increases of 5.0 million viewers and 58% in Adults 18-49 over the third contest of the 2007 Finals (9.5 million & 3.8/12 on 6/12/07).

* On average, the first three games of the 2008 NBA Finals have shot up by 52% in Total Viewers (13.8 million vs. 9.1 million) and by 58% in Adults 18-49 (5.7/17 vs. 3.6/11) over the comparable games in 2007. In viewers and young adults, it's the strongest performance for the NBA Championships since 2004 and the second-highest overall in the 6 years that ABC has covered the Finals. ABC started airing the NBA Finals in 2003.

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 over 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), 6/10/08.