Opening of NBA playoffs gives ratings win to ABC, ESPN
NEW YORK (AP) - The NBA playoffs have begun with no clear championship favorite, and that appears to be good news for ABC and ESPN.
The opening-round schedule of five games last weekend on the networks had more viewers than any playoff start since 2011, and its average of 4.17 million was up 32% over last year, the Nielsen company said.
Leading the way was the instant classic between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, with 6.9 million viewers Sunday afternoon, making it the most-watched first round game since 2016, Nielsen said. Viewership peaked at 9.8 million when the Celtics hit a last-second layup to win 115-114.
Among the broadcast networks, CBS led the way last week with an average of 4.5 million viewers in prime time. ABC had 3.5 million, NBC had 3 million, Fox had 2.8 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1 million and Telemundo had 800,000.
Fox News Channel led the cable networks with a prime-time average of 2.24 million viewers. TNT had 1.59 million, ESPN had 1.23 million, MSNBC had 1.16 million and HGTV had 977,000.
ABC's 'œWorld News Tonight'ť led the evening news ratings with an average of 8 million viewers last week. NBC's 'œNightly News'ť had 6.6 million and the 'œCBS Evening News'ť had 4.6 million.
For the week of April 11-17, the top 20 most-watched prime-time programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. 'œFBI,'ť CBS, 7.39 million.
2. 'œ60 Minutes,'ť CBS, 7.12 million.
3. 'œChicago Fire,'ť NBC, 7.11 million.
4. 'œYoung Sheldon," CBS, 6.85 million.
5. 'œChicago Med,'ť NBC, 6.77 million.
6. 'œThe Equalizer,'ť CBS, 6.64 million.
7. 'œGhosts,'ť CBS, 5.96 million.
8. 'œChicago PD,'ť NBC, 5.92 million.
9. 'œFBI: International," CBS, 5.79 million.
10. 'œNCIS: Los Angeles,'ť CBS, 5.64 million.
11. 'œFBI: Most Wanted,'ť CBS, 5.43 million.
12. 'œCMT Music Awards,'ť CBS, 5.33 million.
13. 'œAmerican Idol'ť (Monday), ABC, 5.31 million.
14. 'œAmerican Idol'ť (Sunday), ABC, 5.27 million.
15. 'œSurvivor,'ť CBS, 5.08 million.
16. 'œAmerica's Funniest Home Videos,'ť ABC, 5.07 million.
17. 'œ911,'ť Fox, 5.06 million.
18. 'œUnited States of Al,'ť CBS, 4.91 million.
19. NBA Playoffs: Chicago at Milwaukee, Turner, 4.77 million.
20. 'œLaw & Order: SVU,'ť NBC, 4.74 million.