By Frazier Moore, Television Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) --It was CNN’s week to shine as the political action shifted from the GOP to coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
While Fox News Channel dominated the week before in covering the Republicans, CNN predictably was preferred by viewers of the Democratic confab. In primetime for the week, CNN led all cable networks with an average of 3.21 million viewers, followed by Fox News Channel with 2.50 million and MSNBC with 2.38 million.
Hourly segments of CNN’s convention coverage claimed the top nine rungs among cable network ratings in prime time, and among all networks, CNN claimed seven slots in the Nielsen Top 20.
Among broadcast networks for the week, NBC led with an average of 4.7 million viewers (as it warms up for more weekly gold courtesy of its Olympics coverage, starting Friday). The week’s top two shows, as usual, were NBC’s two editions of “America’s Got Talent.”
CBS was the week’s runner-up with 4.3 million, while ABC had 4.0 million and Fox drew a feeble 1.9 million. Univision was right behind with 1.7 million, followed by Telemundo with 1.5 million. After that, ION Television had 1.3 million, and the CW had 900,000 viewers.
In the evening news derby, NBC’s “Nightly News” held the top spot with 7.18 million viewers, followed by ABC’s “World News Tonight” with 7.15 million. The “CBS Evening News” had 6.03 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for July 25-31. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.47 million.
2. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 9.52 million.
3. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.21 million.
4. Democratic Convention Coverage (Thursday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 7.78 million.
5. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 7.30 million.
6. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.72 million.
7. Democratic Convention Coverage (Thursday, 11 p.m.), CNN, 6.54 million.
8. “The $100,000 Pyramid,” ABC, 6.52 million.
9. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 6.35 million.
10. Democratic Convention Coverage (Monday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 6.29 million.
11. Democratic Convention Coverage (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 6.11 million.
12. Democratic Convention Coverage (Wednesday, 11 p.m.), CNN, 5.99 million.
13. Democratic Convention Coverage (Wednesday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 5.95 million.
14. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 5.90 million.
15. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 5.87 million.
16. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 5.80 million.
17. Democratic Convention Coverage (Thursday, 9 p.m.), CNN, 5.66 million.
18. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 5.57 million.
19. “NCIS,” CBS, 5.48 million.
20. “Blue Bloods,” NBC, 5.45 million.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More