Primetime Ratings Report
For the week of June 1, 2009
(Based on National Live + Same Day Program Ratings)
ABC Dominates the First Week of June '09 in Adults 18-49, Beating its Nearest Competition by 28% and Claiming 3 of the Top 7 TV Shows in the Key Sales Demo
ABC is Up Week to Week and Year to Year, with its Best Summer Week in 1 Year
2009 NBA Finals Stand as TV's Top 2 Most-Watched Programs for the Week
"The Bachelorette" Makes Week-to-Week Gains in Viewers and Young Adults Opposite NBC's Highly-Promoted Season Premiere of "I'm a Celebrity�"
Holding 91% of its Young Adult Lead-in, "Here Come the Newlyweds" Tops
The NBC Series Finale of "Medium" at 10pm in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34
Standing as the Most-Watched TV Show Wednesday at 8pm, ABC's "Wipeout"
Ranks No. 1 in its Slot for the 2nd Straight Week in Adults 18-49, Men and Teens
"Wipeout" Greatly Improves its Time Period for ABC Year to Year,
Boosting the Hour by 3.3 Million Viewers and by 60% in Adults 18-49
With Coverage of the 2009 NBA Finals Game 1, ABC Wins Thursday by
2.8 Million Viewers and by 71% in Adults 18-49 Over its Closest Competitors
ABC Posts its Top Thursday with Summer Programming Since September '05
And Tallies its Strongest Opening Night with the NBA Finals Since 2004
Gaining Primetime Exposure, ABC's "JKL Game Night" is Up Year to Year, and
In Late-Night "JKL" Posts its Top-Rated Telecast in 3 Months with Adults 18-49
Driven by Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals, ABC Overshadows Sunday's Prime,
Topping its Nearest Competitors by 3.4 Million Viewers and by 171% in Adults 18-49
ABC Produces its Highest-Rated Summer Sunday in 5 Years and its
Strongest-Ever Primetime Delivery with Any Game 2 of the NBA Finals
In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Game 2 of the NBA Finals is the
Biggest in 5 Years and Qualifies as ABC's Second-Strongest-Ever Game 2
WEEK No. 37:
ABC dominated the first week of June '09 (w/o 6/1/09) in Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), beating out its nearest competitors by 28% (1.8/6 � Fox and NBC tied). The Net also finished No. 1 for the week in the other two key Adult demos: AD18-34 (2.1/8) and AD25-54 (2.5/7).
� In Total Viewers (6.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.3/7), ABC's primetime results were up from prior week (4.2 million and 1.3/4) and over the same week last summer (6.1 million and 2.2/7 on w/o 6/2/08). Among Adults 18-49, the Net posted its top-rated summer week in nearly 1 year � since w/o 6/9/08.
Rankings: ABC claimed 3 of the Top 7 TV shows for the week in Adults 18-49, including the Top 2 programs with the opening games of the 2009 NBA Finals: "NBA Finals on Game 2" � No. 1, "NBA Finals on ABC Game 1" � No. 2 and "Wipeout" � No. 7. In addition, ABC's opening games of The Finals stood as the Top 2 most-watched television shows overall for the week: "NBA Finals on Game 2" � No. 1 and "NBA Finals on ABC Game 1" � No. 2.
Monday
ABC's Monday lineup saw week-to-week increases in both Total Viewers (5.9 million vs. 5.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.1/6 vs. 2.0/6). ABC ranked No. 1 on the night among Women 18-34 (3.0/9) and Women 18-49 (3.2/9).
"The Bachelorette" (8:00-10:02 p.m.)
Despite increased competition with the highly-promoted season premiere of NBC's "I'm a Celebrity�Get Me Out of Here," "The Bachelorette" built its audience during each its half-hours from 8:00-10:00 p.m. and was up over its week-ago performance by 7% in Total Viewers (6.4 million vs. 6.0 million) and by 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.1/6). "The Bachelorette" beat its NBC unscripted competition in the 2-hour time period across all key Women demos and won its time-slot among Women 18-34 (3.3/10) and Women 18-49 (3.3/9).
"Here Come the Newlyweds" (10:02-11:00 p.m.)
Holding a strong 95% young adult retention of its lead-in, ABC's "Here Come the Newlyweds" outperformed its week-ago season premiere in Total Viewers (5.0 million vs. 4.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.0/6 vs. 1.9/5). The ABC unscripted series beat the season finale of soon-to-be CBS series "Medium" in the 10 o'clock hour among Adults 18-34 by 21% (1.7/5 vs. 1.4/5) and Women 18-34 by 44% (2.6/8 vs. 1.8/6).
� "Here Come the Newlyweds" improved upon ABC's performance in the hour on the same night last year (6/2/08) in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (4.7 million and 1.9/5 with the season premiere of "The Mole").
Wednesday
On just its second airing in its new Wednesday time period, ABC's "Wipeout" (8.4 million) emerged as the most-watched TV show in the 8 o'clock hour, outdrawing original competition including Fox's time-period veteran, "So You Think You Can Dance" (8.3 million), and Night 3 of NBC's "I'm a Celebrity�.Get Me Out of Here" (4.8 million). In fact "Wipeout" towered over NBC's "I'm a Celebrity�," beating the NBC unscripted series by 3.6 million viewers (8.4 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 67% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/10 vs. 1.8/6). For the 2nd week in a row, the broad-appealing ABC unscripted series finished No. 1 in the hour among Adults 18-49 (tie), across all key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) and Teens 12-17. It was also the top-rated broadcast show in the slot with Kids 2-11.
� "Wipeout" was Wednesday's No. 1 TV show with key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) and Teens.
� "Wipeout" retained nearly all of its week-ago season premiere Total Viewer count (97% - 8.4 million vs. 8.7 million), held 100% with Adults 18-34 (2.4/8), and grew from its opener by +4% among Women 18-34 (2.7.9 vs. 2.6/8), by +5% among Teens 12-17 (2.3/9 vs. 2.2/9) and by +13% among Kids 2-11 (2.6/10 vs. 2.3/9).
� "Wipeout" is generating big year-to-year gains for ABC in the hour with viewers and young adults. On average during its first two weeks, "Wipeout" has improved the time period for the Net by 3.3 million viewers (8.6 million vs. 5.3 million) and by 60% in Adults 18-49 (3.2/10 vs. 2.0/6) over its performance on the same nights last year with original programming ("Wife Swap").
Thursday
With coverage of the 2009 NBA Finals Game 1 between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers, ABC posted a definitive victory on Thursday night, beating its nearest competitors by 2.8 million viewers (10.1 million vs. 7.3 million � CBS) and by 71% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/13 vs. 2.4/7 � Fox).
� Despite the one-sided nature of the game, as the Lakers won by 25 points, ABC's delivery was up over the same Thursday last year in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (9.5 million and 3.7/12 on 6/5/08), when the Net carried Game 1 of the high-profile first-in-two-decades Lakers-Celtics match-up. In fact on both Nielsen measures, ABC tallied its strongest Thursday with summer programming since September 2005 � since 9/8/05.
� In Viewers and Adults 18-49, the Net posted its highest primetime numbers with Game 1 of The Finals since 2004. It was ABC's highest-ever opening night primetime delivery with the NBA Championship Series in Adults 18-34 (4.2/14-tie) and Men 18-34 (5.5/19).
"Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" (Various Time Periods)
Airing around the NBA Finals in various time periods across the country, the "Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" special generated broad exposure for the ABC late-night talker in primetime. On average, "JKL Game Night" was up by 1.9 million viewers (3.6 million vs. 1.7 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 0.6/3) over the show's '08-09 TV Season average in late night.
� Year to year, "JKL Game Night" was up 9% in both Total Viewers (3.6 million vs. 3.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4).
� Thursday's (6/4/09) Late-Night telecast of "JKL" equaled the show's highest Metered Market Adult 18-49 number in over 3 months (since 3/2/09). Competitively, "Kimmel" tied NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on Thursday in Adults 18-49 and outdelivered CBS' "Ferguson" by 150% (1.0/6 vs. 0.4/3).
"2009 NBA Finals Game 1" (9:00 � 11:43 p.m. E.T.)
Featuring the Orlando Magic at the Los Angeles Lakers, ABC's 2009 NBA Finals Game 1 dominated its primetime competition and stood as Thursday's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (13.0 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics: A18-34 (5.6/18), A18-49 (5.4/16) and A25-54 (5.4/15). Los Angeles dominated the opening game of the series by a score of 100-75 to lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.
� Although it was a blow-out contest, the first game of the 2009 Finals equaled the start of the dream match-up between the Lakers and Celtics last year in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo, qualifying as the best start in 5 years (since 2004 Detroit-Lakers) and as the second-highest-ever opening game for The Finals on ABC � beginning with coverage in 2003.
Sunday
Driven by Game 2 coverage of the 2009 NBA Finals, featuring Orlando at Los Angeles, ABC turned in a convincing win on Sunday evening. According to Nielsen's preliminary time-period-based "Fast Affiliate" ratings, ABC outpaced its nearest competition during primetime by 3.4 million viewers (11.2 million vs. 7.8 million - CBS) and by 171% in Adults 18-49 (4.6/14 vs. 1.7/5 � Fox). In Adults 18-49, ABC beat the combined delivery of CBS, NBC and Fox by 15% on the evening (4.6/14 vs. 4.0/12).
� ABC's primetime results were up sharply over the same night last year when it aired coverage of the second game for the high-profile Lakers-Celtics 2008 NBA Finals, increasing by 2.8 million viewers and by 39% in Adults 18-49 (8.4 million and 3.3/10 on 6/8/08). It was the Network's top-
rated summer Sunday in 5 years across the adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) � since 6/13/04.
� The Net posted its best primetime results ever with any Game 2 of The Finals, in the 7 years that ABC has been covering the Championship Series � starting in 2003.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night" (Various Time Periods)
For the 2nd straight telecast, "JKL Game Night" was up over its year-ago performance in both viewers and young adults. On average, the "JKL Game Night" specials have gained 10% in Total Viewers (3.3 million vs. 3.0 million) and 9% in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4 vs. 1.1/4), over the first two telecasts last year.
"2009 NBA Finals Game 2" (8:00 � 11:12 p.m. E.T.)
ABC's 2009 NBA Finals Game 2 overcame its competitors during primetime to qualify as Sunday night's No. 1 TV program in Total Viewers (14.1 million) and across each of the key adult demographics: A18-34 (5.7/19), A18-49 (5.8/17) and A25-54 (6.0/16). It was the 2nd straight telecast for the 2009 NBA Finals to stand as the night's highest-rated television show in viewers and key adults. In a game that went into overtime, the Los Angeles Lakers won by a score of 101-96 to lead the Orlando Magic 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
� ABC's Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals posted year-to-year increases in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, over the second game of the 2008 Lakers-Celtics Finals (13.5 million & 5.5/16 on 6/8/08). In viewers and young adults, it was the strongest Game 2 for the NBA Championship Series in 5 years and the second-highest-ever on ABC � since Game 2 of the 2004 series on 6/8/04. ABC began carriage of the NBA Finals starting in 2003.
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 31% currently, from 25% at the same point in 2008. 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), week of 6/1/09, unless stated otherwise.
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