Golden State-Dallas playoff games score in weekly TV ratings
When the NBA playoffs take the TV court even the most popular shows find the competition tough
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When the NBA playoffs take the TV court even the most popular shows find the competition daunting.
Last week's No. 1 program was the Golden State-Dallas conference finals matchup in which the Warriors extended their winning streak to three out of three. The first two games were among the top 10 programs, with playoff games overall claiming a quarter of the top 20, according to Nielsen figures released Tuesday.
Viewers fit in time for favorite series including CBS' “FBI,” whose next-to-last episode for the season the most-watched drama. The network pulled this week's season finale because its plot, about a cache of guns linked to a student, was deemed too close to Tuesday's mass killings at a Texas elementary school.
CBS was the top network prime time television, averaging 4.4 million viewers. ABC had 3.74 million viewers, NBC had 2.95 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 950,000 and Telemundo had 800,000.
On the strength of the basketball playoffs, TNT led the cable networks with a 2.78 million viewer average. ESPN had 2.27 million, Fox News Channel had 2.26 million, MSNBC had 884956,000 and HGTV had 927,000.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race with an average of 7.4 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” averaged 6.1 million viewers and the “CBS Evening News” had 4.5 million.
For the week of May 16-22, the top 20 prime-time shows, their networks and viewerships:
NBA Playoffs: Golden State at Dallas (Sunday), TNT, 7.42 million.
“FBI,” CBS, 7.15 million.
“Young Sheldon,” CBS, 7.06 million.
“Chicago Fire,” NBC, 6.79 million.
NBA Playoffs: Dallas at Golden State (Friday), TNT, 6.77 million.
NBA Playoffs: Dallas at Golden State (Wednesday), TNT, 6.52 million.
“NCIS,” CBS, 6.51 million.
“American Idol,” ABC, 6.49 million.
“60 Minutes,” CBS, 6.28 million.
“Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.24 million.
NBA Playoffs: Boston at Miami (Tuesday), ESPN, 6.07 million.
NBA Playoffs: Boston at Miami (Thursday), ESPN, 6.05 million.
“FBI: International,” CBS, 5.82 million.
“Survivor,” CBS, 5.7 million.
“911,” Fox, 5.56 million.
“The Neighborhood,” CBS, 5.5 million.
“Chicago PD,” NBC, 5.47 million.
“FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 5.46 million.
"Bob Hearts Abishola,” CBS, 5.33 million.
“This Is Us,” NBC, 5.32 million.