TV Ratings: Celtics, ABC pull out Thursday wins

NBA Finals bring big Thursday ratings to ABC

By Daniel FienbergFriday, Jun 11, 2010 11:43 AM

Nate Robinson of the Boston Celtics

Credit: Winslow Townson/AP

Fast National ratings for Thursday, June 10, 2010.

The Boston Celtics evened up the NBA Finals at two games apiece on Thursday night, guaranteeing ABC at least a six game series and helping the network dominate the evening.

Among adults 18-49, ABC did a 4.2 rating, doubling up the 2.1 rating for second place FOX. CBS was third in the key demographic with a 1.6 rating, with NBC's 1.1 rating taking fourth. The CW's 0.5 rating trailed.

Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 10.64 million viewers to go with a 6.6 rating/12 share. CBS was second with a 5.5/10, with FOX's 3.5/6 in third. NBC was a distant fourth with a 1.8 rating, leaving The CW in fifth with a 0.9/2.

NBA pre-game coverage gave ABC a 5.3/10 and a 3.1 demo rating in the 8 p.m. hour. A repeat of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" did a 4.8/9 to put CBS in second, topping the 2.9/5 for FOX's repeat of "Glee." NBC's "Community" repeat and a new "100 Questions" averaged a 1.7/3 for fourth. The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" was fifth.

Game Four of the NBA Finals delivered a 6.8/12 and a 4.3 demo rating in its first hour for ABC. CBS' "CSI" repeat was second with a 5.6/10. On FOX, a new "So You Think You Can Dance" had a 4.0/7 and finished second in the demo. NBC's repeats of "The Office" and "30 Rock" finished fourth. The CW's encore of "Moonlight" had a 0.8/1 and, unlike last week, fell from its lead-in.

ABC's hoops action improved to a 7.7/14 and a 5.2 demo rating in the 10 p.m. hour. CBS' "The Mentalist" was a solid second with a 6.1/11 overall. NBC's repeats of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" finished third.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.

Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.