By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The return of college football boosted ABC to a win in the weekly television ratings.
The network scored with Sunday night’s overtime thriller between Notre Dame and Texas, which was behind only “America’s Got Talent” among television’s most popular shows last week, and Saturday’s less thrilling game between USC and Alabama.
The games enabled ABC to narrowly beat NBC for bragging rights as the top network in the rerun-filled week before Labor Day, the Nielsen company said.
ABC averaged 5.2 million viewers in prime time to NBC’s 5.18 million. CBS had 4.3 million viewers, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.7 million, Telemundo had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and the CW had 1.1 million.
Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network, averaging 2.14 million viewers in prime time. HGTV had 1.57 million, USA had 1.49 million, ESPN had 1.45 million and TNT had 1.37 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second with 7.9 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.6 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Aug. 29-Sept. 4. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 12.28 million.
2. College Football: Notre Dame at Texas, ABC, 10.95 million.
3. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 10.5 million.
4. College Football: USC at Alabama, ABC, 7.94 million.
5. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.46 million.
6. “Better Late Than Never,” NBC, 7.33 million.
7. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.32 million.
8. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 7.01 million.
9. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 6.46 million.
10. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), NBC, 6.292 million.
11. “College Football Pregame” (Saturday), ABC, 6.29 million.
12. “Bachelor in Paradise (Monday),” ABC, 5.46 million.
13. “Night Shift,” NBC, 5.43 million.
14. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 5.42 million.
15. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 5.27 million.
16. “Hannity” (Wednesday), Fox News, 5.24 million.
17. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 5.17 million.
18. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 5.15 million.
19. “Bachelor in Paradise” (Tuesday), ABC, 5.04 million.
20. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 4.97 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