Sports dominated adults 18-49 viewing for the week with game four of the NBA finals being both the most-viewed among adults 18-49 and the overall viewing audience.   Though the NBA had bigger and better numbers, the NHL probably has the better story to tell.   For one, its Stanley Cup Finals series went a full seven games, featured two franchises the fans are very passionate about, and perhaps the league’s most marketable star.

It  was already a pretty fantastic news in terms of an upswing in viewing for the NHL Stanley Cup finals, and the NHL can say that it beat So You Think You Can Dance among 18-49 year olds.  I wonder what the Vegas odds on that would’ve been at the beginning of the season?

Among the wider viewing audience, after the NBA finals and trophy presentation, repeats of  The Mentalist, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, 48 Hours Mystery and CSI rounded out the top ten.

Both the adults 18-49 and overall viewing top 20 lists are below.

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows with adults 18-49 for the week ending June 14, 2009:

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Both airings of American Idol dominated all charts for the week ending 5/24.  With adults 18-49, Two and Half Men was third for the week (seventh overall) followed by the Dancing With the Stars finale.

Wednesday marked the last official day of the season and the drop off was swift for the remainder of a week that included a holiday weekend, with Univision’s Mañana Es Para Siempre making the 18-49 top twenty with a 2.2 rating.  Starting next week, and continuing into September, I’d look for a lot more Univision shows and CBS repeats in the 18-49 top twenty.

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among Adults 18-49 for the week ending May 24:

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For the week ending May 17,  American Idol,  and the season finales of Grey’s Anatomy, The Biggest Loser, Desperate Housewives, House, and Survivor: Tocantins and Two and a Half Men (not its season finale) led broadcast prime-time viewing with adults 18-49.  If you’re more of a person who likes to see total viewers, regardless of age demographics, scroll down to the second table…

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among 18-49 year olds for the week ending May 17, 2009:

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American Idol lorded over everything  as is typical, but Grey’s Anatomy led the pack of scripted shows among adults 18-49.   A bit of scripted domination with scripted shows taking fifteen out of the twenty top spots.   In the battle between the J.J. Abrams Lost and the J.J. Abrams Fringe, Lost came out a couple of spots ahead among 18-49 year olds.   And though CBS may skew old, it had the most show in the 18-49 top twenty with nine.    FOX and ABC had four each.  NBC had three, and none were in the top ten.

In overall viewing, NCIS was the top scripted show and the fourth most watched show overall behind American Idol and Dancing With the Stars.  But while NCIS was fourth overall, it was only 19th among 18-49 year olds.  I’m enjoying catching up on old episodes on USA Network though.

Michael J. Fox’s return to broadcast in a special on the powers of optimism landed in the top 20 most-watched shows overall at exactly number 20.  It did not place in the top 25 among adults 18-49.

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among 18-49 year olds for the week ending May 10, 2009:

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Once again I’m combining the top 20 with adults 18-49 and the top 20 shows overall into one post with two separate tables. And no, NBC isn’t paying us to put the 18-49 list first so they actually have a few shows in the list…

Grey’s Anatomy led all scripted shows with adults 18-49, but had less than a 300,000 person lead over Two and a Half Men

J.J. Abrams is riding high with two top ten shows in the 18-49 list and a blockbuster Star Trek movie about to be released. Lost narrowly edged out Fringe by less than 150,000 adults 18-49.   While both American Idol’s topped the 18-49 list (and just about any list that can be made), Dancing With the Stars only placed the performance show among the top twenty shows with adults 18-49.  The results show was #25.

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows (18-49 Demo) for the week ending 05/03/09:

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As usual, American Idol won, well, everything.    This week I am combining the 18-49 top twenty that used to be in a separate weekly posting into the weekly overall viewing rankings.  I know people are very interested in overall viewing and will continue to produce that table as well (scroll down), but, it’s the  adults 18-49 demo rankings that matter more, both in terms of ad revenue and a show’s renewal prospects.

So let’s take a look at the broadcast network 18-49 rankings for the week ending April 26, 2009:

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Nielsen Top Twenty Shows Among 18-49 year olds for the week ending April 19, 2009:

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

All numbers are Live + SD (live, plus same day DVR viewing)

Nielsen Top Twenty Shows among adults 18-49 for the week ending April 12, 2009:

Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2009  The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

All numbers are Live + SD (live, plus same day DVR viewing)