It was the second week in a row atop the ratings for “The Big Bang Theory,” whose 12-season run of nerdy comedy ends with a May 16 finale episode that by that time will have no competition from “Thrones” and should win the week running away.
With HBO available in far fewer homes than CBS and the other networks, the past week was still a big win for “Game of Thrones,” which continues to break its own viewership records.
The series’ penultimate episode, titled “The Bells,” which brought a new level of fiery, dragon-fueled destruction, drew 18.4 million viewers if reruns later that night and streaming services views are included. That breaks its record of 17.8 million set for an episode earlier in the season, and makes it the most-watched episode of any show in HBO history.
CBS rode “The Big Bang Theory” and six other shows in the top 10 to again win the week in primetime, with an average of 5.9 million viewers. NBC averaged 4 million, ABC had 3.6 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Telemundo had 1.3 million, ION Television had 1.24 million, Univision had 1.22 million and the CW 750,000.
TNT used the NBA playoffs to become the week’s most popular cable network with a primetime average of 3.4 million viewers. Fox News Channel had 2.3 million, ESPN had 1.8 million, MSNBC had 1.7 million and HGTV had 1.2 million.
Fox News Channel marked its 18th consecutive week as the most-watched basic cable network across the 24-hour day, averaging roughly 1.4 million total viewers for the week of May 6, per Nielsen data. Presentations of Hannity, Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle and The Five claimed 17 of the top 40 cable telecasts overall in total viewers.
⏩ PrimeTime Cable:
- TNT (3,270,000)
- Fox News Channel (2,352,000)
- ESPN (1,802,000)
- MSNBC (1,712,000)
- HGTV (1,169,000)
- NBCSN (1,028,000)
- USA (1,023,000)
- A&E (956,000)
- History (935,000)
- Hallmark (931,000)
Basic cable ranker: Week of... on Scribd
⏩ Broadcast TBV News...ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.1 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 7.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.6 million viewers.
⏩ The Top 20...Primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for May 6-12:
1. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 12.6 million.
2. “Game of Thrones,” HBO, 12.5 million.
3. “NCIS,” CBS, 11.7 million.
4. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 10.5 million.
5. “FBI,” CBS, 8.8 million.
6. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 8.5 million.
7. “Mom,” CBS, 8 million.
8. “American Idol” (Sunday), ABC, 7.9 million.
9. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.82 million.
10. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 7.8 million.
11. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 7.7 million.
12. NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Houston, ESPN, 7.32 million.
13. “Survivor,” CBS, 7.3 million
14. “The Voice,” NBC, 7.27 million.
15. NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Houston, Turner, 7 million.
16. NBA Playoffs: Philadelphia at Toronto, Turner, 6.9 million.
17. NBA Playoffs: Houston at Golden State, Turner, 6.86 million.
18. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 6.8 million.
19. “NCIS: New Orleans, CBS, 6.7 million.
20. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 6.4 million.
⏩ Syndication TV...The first full week of the May sweep was another strong one for Jeopardy super contestant James Holzhauer who won his 22nd straight game, pocketing a total of $1.7 million and propelling the show to its highest ratings in 14 years, according to TV NewsCheck.
Although Holzhauer was sidelined beginning May 6 by a two-week tournament and will not reappear until May 20, the ratings for Jeopardy in the session ending May 5 spurted 11% from the previous round to an eye-popping 8.3 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen, its biggest tally since the week ending March 6, 2005.
In addition, Wheel of Fortune, which is pared with Jeopardy in many markets, also benefitted with a 10% bump to a 6.4. In between the two shows — running over Wheel but not as meteoric as Jeopardy — was full-season household ratings champion Judge Judy, which jumped to an eight-week high 7.2.
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