On Average ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL GAME NIGHT Draws Most Viewers Ever

By: Jun. 21, 2016
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ABC won its 3rd straight week (w/o 6/13/16) in both Total Viewers (10.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.5/14), more than doubling its nearest competition in Total Viewers (+128% - CBS and NBC tied at 4.6 million) and beating the other nets combined by 25% in Adults 18-49 (CBS, NBC, FOX and CW = 2.8/11). It was ABC's 8th consecutive week as the No. 1 broadcaster in Adults 18-49 (including ties). The Net aired 7 of the Top 10 TV programs in Adults 18-49, delivering the Top 4 shows: "NBA Finals on ABC-GM7" - No. 1, "NBA Finals Trophy Presentation" - No. 2, "NBA Finals on ABC-GM6" - No. 3, "NBA Finals on ABC-GM5" - No. 4, "NBA Countdown-GM7" - No. 7, "NBA Countdown-GM6" - No. 8 and "NBA Countdown-GM5" - No. 10. In addition, Games 5-7 and the trophy presentation for 2016 NBA FINALS also stood as the week's Top 4 most watched TV programs overall. ABC's Tuesday opener of "Uncle Buck" ranked as the week's No. 1 comedy, standing as TV's biggest summer comedy debut in 9 years in Total Viewers and 7 years in Adults 18-49.

ABC scored its most watched week in 16 months and its top-rated week in 5 years among Adults 18-49 - since weeks of 2/16/15 and 6/6/11, respectively.

Monday
Featuring Game 5 of the 2016 NBA FINALS (Golden State-Cleveland), ABC posted a big victory on Monday, leading its combined competition (CBS, NBC, FOX and CW) in Total Viewers (+4% - 14.6 million vs. 14.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (+58% - 5.2/18 vs. 3.3/11). In fact it was the Net's 5th consecutive evening this year to top its combined competition in Adults 18-49 with NBA FINALS coverage.

In Adults 18-49, ABC scored its highest-rated Monday in over 6 years - since 3/22/10.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night 5" (Various Time Periods)
Airing around the NBA FINALS in various time periods across the country, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" continued to increase the exposure for the ABC late-night talker in primetime with its biggest audience ever for a "Game Night 5" (4.6 million).

"NBA Finals on ABC Game 5" (9:00-11:56 p.m. EDT) ABC's 2016 NBA FINALS Game 5 shot to the top of the night to rank as Monday's dominant No. 1 TV program in Viewers (20.5 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics: A18-34 (7.2/29), A18-49 (7.6/25) and A25-54 (8.0/23). It was the 5th telecast in a row for the 2016 NBA FINALS to finish as the top show of the night. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors by 15 points (112-97), bringing the series up to a 3-2 Warriors advantage. Across all key measures, it was the biggest game yet for the 2016 NBA Finals.

In Adults 18-49, Monday's Cavaliers-Warriors CONTEST tied last year's Game 5 as the highest-rated non-series-clinching fifth game on ABC - since beginning carriage in 2003.

Tuesday With the preview/premiere episodes of "To Tell The Truth" at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and the debut of "Uncle Buck" in the middle hour from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ABC ran a solid second on Tuesday in Adults 18-49 (1.3/5) to NBC with "America's Got Talent" and "Maya & Marty," nearly doubling Fox's first-run schedule (+86% - 0.7/2 for "Hotel Hell"/"Coupled").

ABC's "Uncle Buck" debut ranked as the No. 2 TV show of the night in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5) to NBC's "America's Got Talent."

"To Tell The Truth" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 5.2 million and 1.0/4 in AD18-49):
At 8:00 p.m. against the first hour of "America's Got Talent," ABC's special preview of "To Tell The Truth" beat out Fox's time-slot veteran "Hotel Hell" by 2.7 million viewers (5.2 million vs. 2.5 million) and by 11% in Adults 18-49 (1.0/4 vs. 0.9/3).

"Uncle Buck" (9:00-10:00 p.m. - 5.0 million and 1.5/5 in AD18-49): Spiking 50% over its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. and growing 7% from its first to second half-hour, ABC's debut of "Uncle Buck" took second to NBC's "America's Got Talent," more than tripling Fox's "Coupled" in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 0.4/2).

"Uncle Buck" stands as TV's top summertime (Memorial Day-Labor Day) comedy debut in 9 years with Total Viewers and in 7 years with Adults 18-49 - since 6/4/07 and 5/27/09, respectively.

"To Tell The Truth" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 5.2 million and 1.2/5 in AD18-49):
In its regular time-slot premiere at 10:00 p.m., ABC's second episode of "To Tell The Truth" grew 20% from its 8:00 p.m. preview telecast in Adults 18-49 (1.2/5 vs. 1.0/4).

"To Tell The Truth" delivered ABC's best summertime numbers with series programming in the hour in 3 years in Total Viewers and in 2 years in Adults 18-49 - since 5/28/13 and 6/24/14, respectively.

Thursday As Cleveland won Game 6 of the 2016 NBA FINALS to force a Game 7 on Sunday (on 6/19 at 8:00 p.m. EDT), ABC shot to the top of Thursday night, once again topping its combined competition (CBS, NBC, FOX and CW) in Total Viewers (+8% - 15.0 million vs. 13.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (+100% - 5.4/20 vs. 2.7/10). It was ABC's 6th straight evening this year to beat out its combined competition in Adults 18-49 with the NBA Finals.

In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, ABC delivered its biggest Thursday in 3 years - since 6/20/13.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night 6" (Various Time Periods) Airing around the NBA FINALS in various time periods across the country, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" continued to greatly broaden the exposure for the ABC late-night talker in primetime with the annual special's biggest audience ever for any "Game Night" telecast (4.8 million). Through its first 6 broadcasts of 2016, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" is up 8% over last year (4.2 million vs. 3.9 million) to deliver its most watched ever 6-night average.

"NBA Finals on ABC Game 6" (9:00-11:55 p.m. EDT) ABC's 2016 NBA FINALS Game 6 dominated as Thursday's definitive No. 1 TV program in Viewers (20.7 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics: A18-34 (7.2/31), A18-49 (7.7/27) and A25-54 (8.1/25). ABC's 2016 NBA FINALS finished as the No. 1 show for the 6th night in a row. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors by a score of 115-101 to tie the best-of-seven series 3-3. Across all key measures, it was the strongest game yet for the 2016 NBA Finals.

Thursday's Warriors-Cavaliers CONTEST was ABC's most watched non-series-clinching Game 6 for the NBA FINALS - since beginning carriage in 2003. Last year's series closed out in 6 games.

Friday "What Would You Do?" (9:01-10:00 p.m. - 3.8 million and 0.9/4 in AD18-49):
At 9:00 p.m., ABC's "What Would You Do?" was up over its most-recent episode in February on Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. (2/9/16) in Total Viewers (+81% - 3.8 million vs. 2.1 million), Adults 18-49 (+50% - 0.9/4 vs. 0.6/2) and Adults 25-54 (+50% - 1.2/4 vs. 0.8/2) to deliver its best numbers of 2016. The ABC newsmagazine also grew over its last Friday telecast (8/28/15) in both key Adult demos: Adults 18-49 (+13%) and Adults 25-54 (+9%).

"What Would You Do?" tied as Friday's No. 1 non-sports program in Adults 18-49 (0.9/4) and Adults 25-54 (1.2/4).

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.1 million and 0.7/3 in AD18-49):
In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "20/20" outdelivered NBC's "Dateline: On Assignment" by double digits in Adults 18-49 (+14% - 0.8/4 vs. 0.7/3) and Adults 25-54 (+20% - 1.2/4 vs. 1.0/4).

"20/20" ranked No. 1 in its hour among Adults 25-54 (1.2/4) and tied as the night's top-rated non-sports program.

Saturday "People's List" (8:00-9:00 p.m. - 2.1 million and 0.3/2 in AD18-49):
"People's List" grew over its week-ago debut by 11% in Total Viewers (2.1 million vs. 1.9 million) and held even among Adults 18-49.

"20/20: In an Instant" (9:00-11:00 p.m. - 2.9 million and 0.5/2 in AD18-49): The season premiere of "20/20: In an Instant" shot up over its lead-in by 67% among Adults 18-49 and 60% in Adults 25-54 to tie as Saturday's No. 1 non-sports program on the broadcast networks.

"In an Instant" was even with last season's finale in Adults 18-49 (0.5/2) and Adults 25-54 (0.8/3).

Sunday Towering over primetime with the deciding Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, ABC doubled its combined competition (CBS, NBC and Fox) in Total Viewers (+113% - 24.5 million vs. 11.5 million) and tripled it with Adults 18-49 (+287% - 8.9/32 vs. 2.3/9). In fact, ABC defeated its combined competition on all 7 nights of 2016 NBA FINALS coverage in Adults 18-49.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night 7" (Various Time Periods) Airing around the NBA FINALS in various time periods across the country, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" continued to greatly broaden the exposure for the ABC late-night talker in primetime. Through all 7 broadcasts of 2016, "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" was up 5% in Total Viewers over last year's average (4.1 million vs. 3.9 million) and 24% over its most-recent 7-night average three years ago (3.3 million in 2013) to mark its best-ever numbers as a series.

"NBA Finals on ABC Game 7" (8:00-10:40 p.m. EDT) With the Cleveland Cavaliers' historic comeback to win this year's trophy, ABC's 2016 NBA FINALS Game 7 was Sunday's dominant No. 1 TV program in Viewers (31.0 million) and across each of the key Adult demographics: A18-34 (10.8/43 rating), A18-49 (11.3/38 rating) and A25-54 (11.8/34). ABC's 2016 NBA FINALS finished as the No. 1 TV show on all 7 nights. In addition, the final game amassed 7.5 million tweets.

The NBA FINALS on ABC Game 7 stands as TV's most watched telecast overall since ABC's 2016 Academy Awards and the top rated among Adults 18-49 since CBS' SUPER BOWL 50 - since 2/28/16 and 2/7/16, respectively.

Sunday's Warriors-Cavaliers CONTEST was up from the most recent NBA FINALS Game 7 (Miami-San Antonio on 6/20/13 = 26.3 million and 10.6/23 in AD18-49) by 18% in Total Viewers and by 7% in Adults 18-49. In fact, in Total Viewers, it was the biggest audience ever for an NBA FINALS game on ABC (since beginning carriage in 2003) and the most watched overall since 1998 - since Bulls-Jazz series-clinching GM 6 on 6/14/98.

As a series, the 2016 NBA FINALS drew an average audience of 20.2 million viewers, making it the most watched ever on ABC. In fact, it was the most watched NBA FINALS since 1998 (Bulls-Utah).

WEEK NO. 39: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 ABC 3.5 No.1 ABC 10,540,000
No.2 NBC 1.1 No.2 CBS 4,570,000
No.3 CBS 0.7 No.2 NBC 4,570,000
No.3 FOX 0.7 No.4 FOX 3,070,000
No.5 CW 0.3 No.5 CW 900,000


Source: The Nielsen Company, National Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 6/13/16.


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