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For Immediate Release
ESPN PR
June 13, 2008
860-766-2000

ABC’s NBA Finals Game 4 Audience Up 40%

ABC Wins Thursday Primetime in Viewers, Key Adult Demos
“Instant Classic” Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET

Last night’s Game 4 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals on ABC – the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics – averaged 13,762,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 40 percent compared to last year (9,803,000 viewers for Cleveland at San Antonio, Game 4).  The Lakers/Celtics game averaged 9,851,000 households, an increase of 37 percent over 7,214,000 households in 2007, and an 8.7 rating, up 34 percent over last year’s 6.5 rating.  Boston overcame a 24-point deficit to win the game 97-91, with the Celtics now leading the series 3-1.  ESPN Classic will televise the game as an “Instant Classic” tomorrow, Saturday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

 

Through four broadcasts, the 2008 NBA Finals are averaging 13,791,000 viewers, up 48 percent over last year’s 9,292,000 viewers.  The Lakers/Celtics series is averaging 9,889,000 households, an increase of 43 percent (6,911,000 HH), and an 8.8 rating, up 42 percent over last year’s 6.2 rating.

 

For the fourth consecutive broadcast, the NBA Finals led ABC to “win the night” among all television networks.  The NBA Finals averaged more homes and viewers than any other show, with ABC winning primetime overall among all networks. 

 

Driven by strong performances from its Thursday dramas during April and May, along with the NBA Finals the past two weeks (4/24-6/12/08), ABC stood as Thursday’s No. 1 network in Adults 18-49 for the eighth week in a row.  It is the network’s longest Thursday winning streak in more than 16 years – pre-dating the start of Nielsen’s electronic database in September 1991. 

 

The Lakers/Celtics broadcast was the network’s highest-rated and most-viewed NBA Finals Game 4 since 2004 (12.7 rating; 13,749,000 households; 20,285,000 viewers), the second-best since ABC reacquired the NBA Finals in 2003.

 

Among key demos, the NBA led the competition among (demo impressions in parenthesis):

 

  • Men 18-34 (2,440,000)
  • Adults 18-34 (3,827,000)
  • Men 18-49 (4,598,000)
  • Adults 18-49 (7,357,000)
  • Men 25-54 (4,353,000)
  • Adults 25-54 (6,924,000)

 

Viewership peaked in the 11 p.m. to midnight ET (8-9 p.m. PT) hour.  Following are quarter-hour household rating details:

 

Broadcast quarter-hours (all times ET)

HH Rating

9:04-9:15 p.m.

6.0

9:15-9:30 p.m.

6.9

9:30-9:45 p.m.

7.7

9:45-10 p.m.

8.0

10-10:15 p.m.

8.9

10:15-10:30 p.m.

7.9

10:30-10:45 p.m.

8.6

10:45-11 p.m.

9.0

11-11:15 p.m.

9.7

11:15-11:30 p.m.

10.1

11:30-11:45 p.m.

11.2

11:45 p.m.-12 a.m.

10.5

 

Additionally, the ESPN.com NBA section generated nearly 7.3 million page views – an increase of 192 percent over the comparable day last year.   The NBA section is averaging 5.6 million page views through Game 4, up 92 percent over 2007.

 

Game 5 of the series will air on ABC Sunday, June 15, with coverage starting with GMC NBA Countdown at 8:30 p.m.  The games are also heard nationally on ESPN Radio.

 

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