Quick Take for Thursday, June 12, 2008 (National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Wins Thursday in Viewers and Adults 18-49, No. 1 on the Night In the Key Young Adult Sales Demographic for the 8th Week in a Row
Driven by Strong Results from its Dramas in April and May, Along with the NBA Finals in June, ABC Marks its Longest Thursday Winning Streak in Over 16 Years
For the 4th Straight Telecast, the 2008 NBA Finals Lead ABC to a Nightly Victory And Qualify as the Night's No. 1 TV Show in Viewers and All Key Adult Demos
"Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" Specials Deliver Broad Exposure for the Show, Up by 76% in Viewers and by 67% in Adults 18-49 Over its Late-Night Averages
NBA Finals Shoot Up by 48% in Viewers and 51% in Adults 18-49 Year to Year, The Strongest Series Since 2004 and the 2nd Highest in ABC's 6 Years of Coverage
Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With continuing coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, ABC took first place on Thursday night in Total Viewers (9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/12). The Net posted a convincing young adult victory on the evening, defeating second-place Fox with "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" and "So You Think You Can Dance" during primetime by 61% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/12 vs. 2.3/7). In fact ABC has been the No. 1 network on all 4 nights with coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals on both Nielsen measures.
* Driven by strong performances from its Thursday dramas during April and May, along with the NBA Finals the past two weeks (4/24-6/12/08), ABC stood as Thursday's No. 1 network in Adults 18-49 for the 8th week in a row. It's the Network's longest Thursday winning streak in more than 16 years - pre-dating the start of Nielsen's electronic database in September 1991.
* ABC's primetime results numbers were up considerably over the same night a year ago, with coverage of the series-clinching-fourth game for the 2007 NBA Finals, gaining 2.2 million viewers and by 32% in Adults 18-49 (7.2 million and 2.8/9 on 6/14/07).
"Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" (Various Time Periods)
Airing around the NBA Finals in various time periods across the country (with 94-98% U.S. Coverage), the "Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" specials are generating broad exposure for the ABC late-night talker in primetime. On average, the four "JKL Game Night" specials are up by 76% in Total Viewers (3.0 million vs. 1.7 million) and by 67% in Adults 18-49 (1.0/4 vs. 0.6/3), over the show's '07-08 TV Season average in late night.
"2008 NBA Finals Game 4" (9:04 - 11:56 p.m. E.T.)
ABC's telecast of Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals took control of its primetime competition from 9:00-11:00 p.m. and registered as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (13.8 million) and
across each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (5.7/19), A18-49 (5.6/17) and A25-54 (5.6/16). It was the 4th broadcast in a row for the Finals to stand as the evening's No. 1 television show in viewers and all key adults. The Boston Celtics won Game 4 by a score of 97-91 to lead the best-of-seven-game series 3-1.
* Game 4 was up year to year by 3.9 million viewers and 40% in Adults 18-49 over the series-concluding Game 4 of the 2007 Championships (9.9 million & 4.0/13 on 6/14/07).
* On average, the four games the 2008 NBA Finals jumped by 48% in Total Viewers (13.8 million vs. 9.3 million) and by 51% in Adults 18-49 (5.6/17 vs. 3.7/12) over the four-game 2007 Championship Series. In viewers and young adults, it's the strongest performance for the NBA Finals 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 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), 6/12/08.
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