ABC wins Thursday by wide margins with NBA coverage

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With Coverage of the 2010 NBA Finals, ABC Leads Thursday by Wide Margins for the 2nd Straight Week in Viewers and Adults 18-49.  ABC Posts its Biggest Summer Thursday Results in Nearly 5 Years. For the 4th Straight Broadcast of the Series, the “NBA Finals on ABC” Finishes as the No. 1 TV Program with Viewers and All Key Adult Demos.


“JKL Game Night” Specials Continue to Outperform Last Year And Produce Broad Exposure for the ABC Late-Night Talker. 

Game 4 Stands as the Most-Watched for Any NBA Finals Game in 2 Years. The NBA Finals Generates its Best Results in 6 Years, Registering the Second-Strongest-Ever Numbers on ABC.

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
With coverage of the 2010 NBA Finals Game 4 (Celtics-Lakers), ABC took full control of Thursday night for the 2nd week in a row, beating its nearest competitors during prime by 3.0 million viewers (11.3 million vs. 8.3 million – CBS) and by 110% in Adults 18-49 (4.4/15 vs. 2.1/7 – Fox). In fact it was the Network’s 4th consecutive primetime victory with coverage of the 2010 NBA Finals.
 
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC marked its top summer Thursday in nearly 5 years – since 9/8/05.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night 4” (Various Time Periods)
For the 4th broadcast in a row, “JKL Game Night” increased its overall audience year to year. On average, ABC’s 2010 “JKL Game Night” specials are up by 9% in Total Viewers (3.7 million vs. 3.4 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/5 vs. 1.1/4) over the first four telecasts last year, delivering its best numbers in its 3 years on the air.

The “Game Night” specials continue to produce broad exposure for “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” doubling its results in viewers (+131% – 3.7 million vs. 1.6 million) and young adults (+140% – 1.2/5 vs. 0.5/3) over its late-night 2009-10 TV Season averages.

“NBA Finals on ABC – GM 4” (9:03 – 11:50 p.m., ET)
The “NBA Finals on ABC – GM 4” outdelivered its primetime competitors to stand as Thursday’s
No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (16.4 million) and across each of the key Adult demos: A18-34 (6.4/22), A18-49 (6.6/21) and A25-54 (6.9/18). It was the 4th consecutive broadcast for the 2010 NBA Finals to finish as the No. 1 TV show of the night in viewers and key adults. The Boston Celtics defeated the LA Lakers by a score of 96-89, tying the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Game 4 registered as the biggest draw yet for the 2010 NBA Finals and as the most-watched overall for any NBA Championship game in 2 years – since the series clinching Game 6 of the 2008 Celtics-Lakers Series (6/17/08). In addition, the NBA Game registered as the most-watched non-Olympic summer telecast on any network since the same date 2 years ago.

In viewers and young adults, it was the best Game 4 for the NBA Championship Series in 6 years and the second-highest-ever on ABC – since Game 4 of the 2004 series on 6/13/04.

Based on 4-game averages, the 2010 NBA Championship Series continues to generate the strongest numbers in 6 years (since 2004), its 2nd-highest-ever on ABC in both Total Viewers (15.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (6.3/19). Versus the first four games of 2009 (Lakers-Magic), The Finals is up year to year by 1.1 million viewers and by 7% in Adults 18-49 (14.4 million and 5.9/18).  
  
A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 36% currently, from 31% at the same point in 2009. 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: ABC – The Nielsen Company (National, Live + Same Day Program Ratings), 6/10/10.)