Primetime Ratings Report For the week of June 2, 2008 (Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
Growing from the Prior Week and from the Same Week Last Year,
ABC Marks its Strongest Summer Weekly Frame Since September 2006
Opening 2 Games of the 2008 NBA Finals on ABC Qualify as the Week's
Top 2 TV Shows in Total Viewers, Across All Key Adults and All Key Men
ABC Wins Thursday and Sunday with the NBA Championships, as the Series Outpaces Last Year's Numbers by 51% in Viewers and 53% in Adults 18-49
ABC's Monday is Up Week to Week by 11% in Both Total Viewers and Adults18-49
Building by 1.8 Million Viewers and 53% in Adults 18-49 Throughout its Telecast, "The Bachelorette" is No. 1 in its Time Period Across All Key Women Demographics
Monday's Season Premiere of ABC's "The Mole" Builds on its Lead-in
Among Young Men and Ranks No. 1 in its Slot with Women 18-34
2008 NBA Finals Game 1 Makes ABC No. 1 on Thursday in Viewers and Key Adults
ABC Posts its Highest-Rated Thursday with Young Men Since September 2005
Lakers-Celtics 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 Dominates the Primetime Landscape,
Standing as Thursday's No. 1 TV Program in Viewers and Across All Key Adults
A Replay of "Finding Nemo" on "The Wonderful World of Disney" Lifts ABC to
No. 1 on Saturday Night in Total Viewers and Across All Key Adult Demographics
Boosted by Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals, ABC Wins Sunday in Viewers and
Adults 18-49, Topping its Nearest Competitors and by 83% in the Key Sales Demo
The Net Tallies its Strongest Non-Oscar Sunday in Over 2 Years with Young Men
For the Second Straight Telecast This Year, the 2008 NBA Finals on ABC
Qualify as the Night's No. 1 TV Show in Viewers and All Key Adults Demographics
WEEK No. 37:
ABC took second place to Fox during the week of June 2, 2008 across each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (1.9/7), A18-49 (2.2/7) and A25-54 (2.5/7). Boosted by coverage of the first two games of the 2008 NBA Finals, ABC ranked No. 1 during the week among Men 18-49 (2.1/7-tie) and Men 25-54 (2.4/7). ABC's NBA Championship Series coverage won Thursday and Sunday night in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while a rebroadcast of Disney's "Finding Nemo" lifted the Net to No. 1 on Saturday on both counts.
� In Total Viewers (6.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/7), ABC was up over the prior week (w/o 5/26/08 = 5.5 million and 1.8/5) and posted solid gains from the same week last year (w/o 6/4/07 = 5.7 million and 2.0/6). In fact ABC marked its strongest week during a summer frame since September 2006 (w/o 9/11/06).
Rankings: ABC's coverage of the first two games of the 2008 NBA Finals stood as the week's Top 2 TV programs in Total Viewers, across all key adults (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) and in each of the men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54).
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 more than 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.
Monday
ABC's Monday night lineup of "The Bachelorette" leading into the season premiere of "The Mole" saw the Net post increases over the previous week of 11% in both Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 1.9/5).
"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)
Growing its audience during each half-hour of its 8:00-10:00 p.m. telecast, "The Bachelorette" improved on its performance over the previous week by nearly 1.0 million viewers (6.5 million vs. 5.6 million) and by 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.0/5). Week 3 of the series ranked No. 1 in its 2-hour block across each of the key women demographics: Women 18-34 (2.7/8), Women 18-49 (3.4/10) and Women 25-54 (4.0/10).
� "The Bachelorette" grew its audience throughout its broadcast, growing by 1.8 million viewers (5.6 million to 7.4 million) and by 53% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 to 2.6/7) from start to finish.
"The Mole" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
The season premiere of ABC's "The Mole" attracted 4.7 million viewers and a 1.9 rating, 5 share in Adults 18-49. The ABC unscripted series ranked No. 1 in Women 18-34 (2.2/7 � tied), while finishing second among Women 18-49 (2.7/7) and Women 25-54 (3.0/8).
� "The Mole" built on its lead-in among Men 18-34 (1.1/3 vs. 0.8/3) and Men 18-49 (1.2/3 vs. 0.9/3).
Thursday
With coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, ABC won Thursday night in Total Viewers (9.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.7/12). Beating second-place Fox with a 2-hour installment of "So You Think You Can Dance" during primetime by 12% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/12 vs. 3.3/10), ABC marked its 7th consecutive week as the No. 1 network on Thursday in the key young adult sales demo.
� ABC's numbers increased substantially over the same night last year with coverage of the opening game for the 2007 NBA Finals, up by 2.1 million viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (7.4 million and 2.9/10 on 6/7/07).
� The Network marked its highest-rated Thursday among young men (M18-34 � 4.6/12 and M18-49 � 4.9/16) since September 2005, with the Thursday season opener of "Monday Night Football" on 9/8/05.
"2008 NBA Finals Game 1" (9:06 � 11:59 p.m. E.T.)
Featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, ABC's 2008 NBA Finals Game 1 dominated its primetime competition and stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (13.4 million) and each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (5.3/18), A18-49 (5.4/17) and A25-54 (5.7/16). Boston took the opening game by a score of 98-88 to lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.
� The opening game of the '08 NBA Finals was up by 4.2 million viewers and by 46% in Adults 18-49 from the start of the year-ago '07 Finals (9.2 million & 3.7/12 on 6/7/07). In viewers and young adults, it represented the strongest start for the NBA Championships in 4 years � since Game 1 of the 2004 series on 6/6/04. In fact among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, it was the second-best opener for the series in the 6 years that ABC has been carrying the NBA championships � beginning in 2003.
� Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals delivered a 22.8/40 Household number in Los Angeles (12.4/43 in AD18-49) and a 21.7/37 in Boston (13.3/27 in AD18-49).
Saturday
"The Wonderful World of Disney Finding Nemo" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)
ABC's broadcast of "The Wonderful World of Disney: Finding Nemo" lifted the Net to the No. 1 position on the night in Total Viewers (4.9 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: Adults 18-34 (1.4/6-tie), Adults 18-49 (1.6/6-tie) and Adults 25-54 (1.8/6-tied). It was the 2nd time in 3 weeks that ABC delivered the top position on Saturday with viewers and key adults.
Sunday
Driven by Game 2 coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals, featuring Los Angeles and Boston, ABC won Sunday in Total Viewers (8.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.3/10). In the key young adult sales demo, ABC outpaced its nearest competition during primetime by 83% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/10 vs. 1.8/5 � Fox and NBC tied).
� ABC's primetime results were up sharply over the same night last year when it aired coverage of the second game for the 2007 NBA Finals, increasing by 2.4 million viewers and by 43% in Adults 18-49 (6.0 million and 2.3/7 on 6/10/07).
� Excluding the Academy Awards evenings, ABC garnered its highest Sunday numbers among young men in more than 2 years � best since 5/21/06 in Men 18-34 (3.9/16) and Men 18-49 (4.1/12).
"2008 NBA Finals Game 2" (9:04 � 11:55 p.m. E.T.)
ABC's 2008 NBA Finals Game 2 overcame its primetime competition to qualify as Sunday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (13.5 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (5.5/17), A18-49 (5.5/16) and A25-54 (5.8/16). It was the 2nd straight telecast for the 2008 NBA Finals to stand as the night's highest-rated television show in viewers and key adults. The Boston Celtics won the game by a score of 108-102 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
� ABC's Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals posted year-to-year increases of 4.9 million viewers and 62% in Adults 18-49 over the second game of the 2007 Finals (8.6 million & 3.4/10 on 6/10/07). In viewers and young adults, it was the strongest Game 2 for the NBA Championships in 4 years and the second highest in the 6 years that ABC has carried the Finals � since Game 2 of the 2004 series on 6/8/04. ABC began carriage of the NBA Finals starting in 2003.
� On average, the first two games of the '08 NBA Finals are up by 51% in Total Viewers (13.4 million vs. 8.9 million) and by 53% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/16 vs. 3.6/11) over the comparable games in 2007.
Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 6/2/08, unless stated otherwise.
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