{alltv} TV Ratings: 'Love Bites' lives up to its name, NBA Finals programming wins Thursday for ABC

Friday, June 3, 2011

{alltv} TV Ratings: 'Love Bites' lives up to its name, NBA Finals programming wins Thursday for ABC

Fast National ratings for Thursday, June 2, 2011

The long-delayed premiere of NBC's anthology romantic comedy, "Love Bites," failed to meet even the lowest expectations Thursday night. The series managed to pull in marginally better numbers than "30 Rock" reruns in the same time slot.

ABC's NBA Finals programming, which introduced the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat with special episodes of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "NBA Countdown," was on top for the night, winning the network the most viewers and a strong lead in the key demo.

ABC topped the night 10.96 million viewers and a 6.6 rating/11 share in households. CBS (7.9 million, 5.2/9) came in second, followed by FOX (5.98 million, 3.6/6) in third, NBC (2.6 million, 1.7.3) in fourth and The CW (1 million, 0.7/1) in last.

The adults 18-49 demographic belonged to ABC, with a wide margin between its closest competition. The network scored a 4.4 rating, with FOX (2.1) in a distant second, CBS (1.8) in third, NBC (1.0) in fourth and The CW (0.4) in the back.

Thursday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

FOX: "So You Think You Can Dance" (7.7 million viewers, 4.6/8 households)
CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" rerun (7.4 million, 4.8/9)/"Rules of Engagement" rerun (6.7 million, 4.3/7)
ABC: "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night" (6.2 million, 3.8/7)/"NBC Countdown" (7.1 million, 4.3/7)
NBC: "Community" rerun (2.6 million, 1.8/3)/"30 Rock" rerun (2.3 million, 1.6/3)
The CW: "The Vampire Diaries" rerun (1 million, 0.7/1)

18-49 leader: "So You Think You Can Dance" (2.8)

9 p.m.

ABC: "2011 NBA Finals" (12.5 million, 7.5/12)
CBS: "CSI" rerun (7.97 million, 5.2/9)
FOX: "Glee" rerun (4,2 million, 2.6/4)
NBC: "The Office" rerun (2.9 million, 1.9/3)/"Parks and Recreation" rerun (2.5 million, 1.6/3)
The CW: "Nikita" rerun (1 million, 0.6/1)

18-49 leader: "NBA Finals" (5.1)

10 p.m.

ABC: "2011 NBA Finals" rerun (13.8 million, 8.4/14)
CBS: "The Mentalist" rerun (8.8 million, 5.8/10)
NBC: "Love Bites" series premiere (2.5 million, 1.8/3)

18-49 leader: "NBA Finals" (5.9)