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Thursday
June 19, 2008
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Celtics-Lakers Finals Coverage Averages Highest Rating Since '04

ABC Averages 9.3 Rating
For Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals

ABC's coverage of the six game Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals averaged a 9.3 rating and 14.9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-viewed Finals since Pistons-Lakers in '04 earned an 11.4 rating. The Celtics-Lakers series also is up 50.0% over a 6.2 for last year's four-game Spurs-Cavaliers Finals. ABC for the week ending June 15 topped all broadcast nets in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. ABC Tuesday for Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals Game Six drew a 10.7 rating and 16,878,000 viewers, marking the highest-rated and most-viewed Finals Game Six since the Lakers-Pacers in '00 drew a 14.7 rating and 22,396,000 viewers. Viewership for Celtics-Lakers Game Six was up 7.4% over the 15,710,000 viewers for Heat-Mavericks Game Six in '06, and Tuesday's game ranked as the most-viewed TV program across all broadcast nets for the night. The game topped all shows in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. ABC for the sixth consecutive NBA Finals broadcast led all broadcast nets for the night (THE DAILY). The following chart lists game-by-game ratings for this year's NBA Finals, with comparisons to last year's four-game set:

NBA FINALS RATINGS ON ABC: '08 VS. '07
GM
DATE
DAY
RAT.
% +/-
VIEWERS (000)
% +/-
1
6/5
Thurs.
8.7
38.1%
13,384
45.4%
2
6/8
Sun.
8.5
51.8%
13,491
57.8%
3
6/10
Tues.
9.2
43.8%
14,509
52.9%
4
6/12
Thus.
8.7
33.8%
13,762
40.4%
5
6/15
Sun.
10.1
n/a
17,257
n/a
6
6/17
Tues.
10.7
n/a
16,878
n/a
'08 AVG. (Six Games)
9.3
50.0%
14,946
60.9%

The NBA Finals on ABC also has six of the ten most-watched programs this month. The following lists the most-viewed programs on network television in June to date.

MOST-VIEWED NETWORK TV PROGRAMS IN JUNE TO DATE
RANK
SHOW
NET
RATING
VIEWERS (MILLIONS)
1
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Five
ABC
10.2
17.4
2
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game Six
ABC
10.7
16.9
3
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Three
ABC
9.2
14.5
4
NBA Finals: Celtics-Lakers: Game Four
ABC
8.7
13.8
5
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game Two
ABC
8.5
13.5
6
NBA Finals: Lakers-Celtics: Game One
ABC
8.7
13.4
7
Belmont Stakes
ABC
8.2
13.1
8
"America's Got Talent"
ABC
7.8
12.8
9
U.S. Open: Final Round
NBC
7.5
12.0
10
"Two and a Half Men"
CBS
6.9
10.7
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