Nielsens: 'Camp' Rocks Cable Charts

June 25, 2008— -- •Slam dunk. The Boston Celtics NBA Championship clincher against the Los Angeles Lakers was the week's most-watched program, averaging 16.9 million viewers. The six-game series between the league's most decorated franchises was up substantially over last year's NBA Finals; it averaged 61% more viewers and 65% more young adults (ages 18 to 49). In both categories, it ranks as the best NBA championship ratings performance since 2004.

•Non-hoop skills. The Season 3 premiere of NBC's "America's Got Talent", up against the NBA finale, scored 12.8 million viewers, the reality competition's third-best showing in viewers. It trailed last year's premiere and finale.

•Cable rocks. Disney Channel's premiere Friday of "Camp Rock", featuring the Jonas Brothers, was the week's top cable show (8.9 million viewers), making it the cable network's second-most-watched movie after last season's "High School Musical 2". As part of a Disney-ABC trifecta, the teen heartthrob showcase ran Saturday on ABC (3.5 million) and Sunday on ABC Family (3.7 million), which drew more than its broadcast cousin.

•Audience apathy. Nighttime didn't work out for the 35th Annual Daytime Emmys, as ABC's Friday broadcast drew 5.4 million viewers, the smallest audience for the awards show since 1991, when it moved to prime time.

•A new high. "Weeds'" Season 4 premiere (1.4 million) was the Showtime comedy's biggest season opener and the network's highest-rated broadcast since it began breaking out ratings in 2004. The second- and third-season premieres drew 578,000 and 824,000 viewers respectively. "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" (949,000 viewers), which followed "Weeds", gave the pay-cable network its biggest series debut since the ratings began.

•Rarefied air. "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" (667,000 viewers) gave Oxygen its most-watched original-series season premiere. The opener of Season 3, which follows Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott, was up 30% over last season's first episode.