Celtics-Lakers Thursday Primetime: 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 (CBS) and by 110% in Adults 18-49 (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: 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 and by 9% in Adults 18-49, 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, more than doubling its results in viewers (+131%) and young adults (+140%) over its late-night 2009-10 TV Season averages.
2010 NBA Finals Game 4: The NBA Finals on ABC – GM 4 (9:03-11:50pm, ET) out delivered 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 4th consecutive broadcast for the 2010 NBA Finals to finish as the #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 in overall viewership for the 2010 NBA Finals and as the most-watched for any NBA Championship game in 2 years – since the series-clinching Game 6 of the 2008 Celtics-Lakers Series (on 6/17/08). Beyond that, the NBA Game attracted the largest audience for any 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 and Adults 18-49.
Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings:
(sourc: ABC)
