Overall: ABC finished as the #1 network for the 3rd consecutive week among Total Viewers and across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). Winning in Adults 18-49 for the 4th time in 5 weeks, ABC outdelivered second-place Fox by 53%, third-place NBC by 63% and fourth-place CBS by 100%. The Net claimed 4 of the week’s Top 8 TV programs in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 with coverage of the 2010 NBA Finals: NBA Finals on ABC – GM7 – #1, NBA Finals on ABC – GM6 – #2, GMC Sierra NBA Countdown-GM7 – #6 and The Bachelorette – #8. ABC’s NBA Finals games and The Bachelorette also placed among the week’s Top 10 most-watched programs overall. ABC News’ 20/20 ranked as the TV’s #1 newsmagazine for the 2nd time in 3 weeks among Adults 18-49. By taking first place during each of the first 3 weeks of the summer frame, ABC marked its most competitive start to summer since at least 1992 – pre-dating the beginning of Nielsen’s electronic database, in September 1991. For the 5th consecutive week, ABC’s results built over the year-ago week (w/o 6/15/09), more than doubling year to year in Total Viewers (+103%) and Adults 18-49 (+136%).
Monday: With its unscripted line-up of The Bachelorette and True Beauty, ABC won its 2nd straight Monday night among Adults 18-49, beating second-place CBS by 26%, third-place Fox by 50% and fourth-place NBC by 60%. Growing its overall Monday audience year to year for the 3rd consecutive week, ABC was up over the year-ago Monday (6/15/09) by 1.5 million viewers and 14% in Adults 18-49. From 8-10pm, ABC’s The Bachelorette finished #1 in its 2-hour time period for the 3rd week running in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. The Bachelorette stood as Monday’s #1 TV program among Adults 18-49 and also registered as the dominant #1 show for the 3rd week in a row across all key Women demographics (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). The Bachelorette grew its overall audience year to year for the 3rd week in a row. The show also built over the prior week by 6% in viewers, rising for the 2nd straight week. During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s True Beauty placed #1 against its network competition for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-49. In addition, the ABC unscripted series defeated NBC’s original scripted drama, Persons Unknown, by an even wider margin in the hour this week of 1.8 million viewers and 58% in Adults 18-49. True Beauty greatly improved its time period for ABC, over the year-ago night with original programming, growing the hour by 1.3 million viewers and by 27% in Adults 18-49.
Tuesday: Airing Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals (Celtics-Lakers), ABC won its 2nd consecutive Tuesday in Total Viewers and across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). Posting a dominant primetime victory, the Network topped its nearest competition by 6.1 million viewers (CBS) and by 104% in Adults 18-49 (Fox). In viewers and young adults, ABC produced its strongest summer Tuesday numbers in 6 years – since its broadcast of the series-clinching Game 5 of the 2004 NBA Finals (Pistons-Lakers) on 6/15/04. The NBA Finals on ABC – GM 6 (9:04-11:43pm, ET) overshadowed original network competition during prime, including NBC’s America’s Got Talent Fox’s 2-hour Hell’s Kitchen, to stand as Tuesday’s definitive #1 TV program in Total Viewers and across each of the key adult demos. In a lopsided victory, the LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics by a score of 89-67, forcing a decisive Game 7 on ABC Thursday night (6/17/10). Despite the one-sided nature of the contest, as the Lakers led by substantial margins throughout the game, it was ABC’s highest-rated-ever Game 6 in the eight years of broadcasting the NBA Finals (starting in 2003) with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. Additionally, it was the top-rated telecast for any NBA Finals game in 6 years among Adults 18-34 and Teens 12-17 – since the series-ending fifth game in 2004 (6/15/04).
Thursday: With coverage of the deciding Game 7 for the 2010 NBA Finals (Celtics-Lakers), ABC towered over Thursday night, beating its combined network competition (CBS, NBC, Fox and CW) during primetime by nearly 2 million viewers and by 58% in Adults 18-49. ABC won all 7 nights with its coverage of the 2010 NBA Finals. In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC posted its top summer Thursday in more than 18 years – pre-dating the start of Nielsen’s electronic database, in September 1991. On average, ABC’s 2010 JKL Game Night specials jumped year to year by 13%, earning the program’s biggest audience in its 3 years on the air. During their run, the Game Night specials produced greatly increased sampling and exposure for JKL, more than doubling its results in Viewers (+112%) and Adults 18-49 (+120%) over its late-night 2009-10 TV Season averages. The NBA Finals on ABC – GM 7 (9:04-11:59pm, ET) towered over its primetime competitors to stand as Thursday’s #1 TV program in Total Viewers and across each of the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54). It was the 7th consecutive broadcast for the 2010 NBA Finals to rank as the #1 TV show of the evening in viewers and key adults. Claiming their 16th NBA title, the LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics by a score of 83-79. With Game 7, ABC scored its best-ever numbers in eight years of broadcasting the NBA Finals (beginning in 2003) with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. In fact on both Nielsen measures, Game 7 of the 2010 championship series registered as the biggest for any NBA Finals telecast in 12 years – since the series-clinching Game 6 of the 1998 Bulls-Jazz series on 6/14/98. In viewers and young adults, Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals also qualified as TV’s top non-Olympics summer telecast in nearly 10 years – since 8/23/00. On average, the 2010 NBA Finals produced the championship series’ biggest audience ever on ABC and its 2nd-highest Adult 18-49 numbers. In fact it finished as the most-watched NBA Finals overall in 9 years – since 2001 (Philadelphia-LA Lakers). Versus the 5-game 2009 Lakers-Magic series, The Finals on ABC surged year to year by 3.8 million viewers and by 21% in Adults 18-49.
Sunday: Building on its lead-in at 9pm (against the conclusion of NBC’s high-rated U.S. Open Golf Tournament coverage on Father’s Day) and gaining audience throughout its debut broadcast, the series premiere of Scoundrels stood Sunday’s most-watched entertainment program. Scoundrels improved the hour year to year for ABC by double-digit percentages in Total Viewers (+16%) and in Adults 18-49 (+18%), over original programming on the year ago night (ABC Premiere Event – Impact Part 1 on 6/21/09). Growing from its lead-in at 10pm by 15% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s series debut of The Gates finished a strong #1 in the hour, beating CBS by 50% and NBC by 50% (season premiere of Law & Order: CI). The Gates boosted the hour for ABC over the year-ago night by 25% in Adults 18-49, pulling the Net’s highest summer rating in the time slot since 2006 – since 9/3/06. The Gates stands as TV’s top-rated summer scripted series debut in 1 year and ABC’s strongest in 5 years – since 6/24/09 and 6/28/05, respectively.
(source: ABC)
