ABC's Coverage of NBA Finals Game 2 Dominates Ratings

ABC (11.33 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 4.7, #1) overshadowed the competition on Thursday with its mix of "Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night" (6.12 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3), "NBA Countdown" (7.71 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 3.1, #2) and "NBA Finals, Game 2" (13.55 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 5.8, #1).

Here are the other highlights of the 14 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

CBS (7.00 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then topped the leftovers with its repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (7.84 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 2.1, #T3), "2 Broke Girls" (6.22 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.8, #5), "Person of Interest" (6.89 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #9) and "The Mentalist" (7.07 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #8).

Next up was FOX (3.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) with week two of "Take Me Out" (2.62 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 1.1, #10) and "The Choice" (3.61 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6).

Meanwhile, NBC (4.62 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #4) offered up an encore of "America's Got Talent" (5.91 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 1.5, #T6) followed by its second weeks of "Saving Hope" (3.96 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 0.7, #12) and "Rock Center With BrIan Williams" (4.00 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 0.8, #11).

And finally, a new "The Catalina" (0.87 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.3, #13) and a repeat of "The Vampire Diaries" (0.47 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.2, #14) on The CW (0.67 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.2, #5) closed out the evening. In the netlet's target demo (women 18-34), "Catalina" posted a 0.4 rating while "Diaries" delivered a 0.3 rating.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49):
+50.00% - The Catalina
+14.29% - Rock Center With BrIan Williams
0.00% - Saving Hope
-11.76% - The Choice
-15.38% - Take Me Out
Year-to-year changes (adults 18-49):
+300.00% - NBA Finals, Game 2 (vs. Wipeout (Repeat)/Rookie Blue (Repeat))
+93.75% - NBA Countdown (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
+36.36% - The Choice (vs. Glee (Repeat))
+31.25% - Jimmy Kimmel: Game Night (vs. Wipeout (Repeat))
-11.11% - Rock Center With BrIan Williams (vs. Love Bites)
-25.00% - The Catalina (vs. The Vampire Diaries (Repeat))
-36.36% - Saving Hope (vs. The Office (Repeat)/Parks & Recreation (Repeat))
-47.62% - Take Me Out (vs. So You Think You Can Dance 8)
In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):
In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.5/6; CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.2/5; and ABC's combo of "Nightline," (delayed by NBA Basketball); and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," (delayed by NBA Basketball).

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.8/3; "Late Show," 0.5/2; "Nightline," (delayed by NBA Basketball); and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," (delayed by NBA Basketball).

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.2/4 in metered-market households) beat CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.0/3). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.4/3 in 18-49) topped "Late Late Show" (0.3/2).

At 1:35 a.m., "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households with an encore and a 0.3/2 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Here are the highlights of the 16 ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (6/16/11):

FOX (4.83 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.6, #1) narrowly took home top honors on Thursday thanks to a new "So You Think You Can Dance" (6.30 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 2.1, #1) and a repeat of "Glee" (3.36 million viewers, #9; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8).

ABC (5.03 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) then snagged the silver with repeats of "Wipeout" (5.49 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 1.6, #4), another "Wipeout" (6.05 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 2.0, #2) and "Rookie Blue" (3.53 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

Next up was CBS (7.18 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #3) with its repeat lineup of "The Big Bang Theory" (6.67 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.7, #3), "Rules of Engagement" (5.57 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (7.34 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.3, #T6) and "The Mentalist" (8.09 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.4, #5).

Meanwhile, NBC (2.60 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4) was out of the hunt with repeats of "Community" (2.61 million viewers, #12; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "30 Rock" (2.39 million viewers, #13; adults 18-49: 0.7, #T13), "The Office" (3.16 million viewers, #10; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) and "Parks & Recreation" (2.79 million viewers, #11; adults 18-49: 1.1, #T8) followed by week three of "Love Bites" (2.33 million viewers, #14; adults 18-49: 0.9, #T11).

And finally, repeats of "The Vampire Diaries" (1.08 million viewers, #16; adults 18-49: 0.4, #15) and "Nikita" (1.09 million viewers, #15; adults 18-49: 0.3, #16) on The CW (1.08 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 0.4, #5) rounded out the night.

Week-to-week changes (adults 18-49): Love Bites (-0.00%), So You Think You Can Dance (-12.50%).

In late-night metered market ratings (via NBC's press release):
In Nielsen's 56 metered markets, household results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 2.6/6; and CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman," 2.7/7. and ABC's combo of "Nightline," 2.6/6; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 1.2/4.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, adult 18-49 results were: "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," 0.9/4; and "Late Show," 0.7/3; "Nightline," 0.9/4; and "Jimmy Kimmel Live," 0.5/3..

At 12:35 a.m., "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (1.4/5 in metered-market households) topped an encore of CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (1.3/4). In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, "Late Night" (0.6/3 in 18-49) topped the encore "Late Late Show" (0.4/2).

At 1:35 a.m., a rebroadcast of "Last Call with Carson Daly" averaged a 0.8/3 in metered-market households and a 0.4/3 in adults 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

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