By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Cable television networks offer sports, reality, comedy and drama. But what’s selling now is opinionated news.
Sixteen of the 17 most-watched programs on cable last week were either on Fox News Channel or MSNBC, the Nielsen company said. The only exception was coverage of the NBA draft on ESPN.
Three editions of Sean Hannity’s show on Fox were the three most-watched programs. Fox and MSNBC were the two highest-rated cable news networks for the week, and Fox News did better than Fox’s broadcast entertainment network.
For broadcasters, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” is clearly the summer’s most dominant show, with a margin of more than 4 million viewers over any other program.
Despite the “Talent” head start, CBS was the week’s most popular network in prime time, averaging 4.3 million viewers. NBC had 4.1 million, ABC had 3.4 million, Fox had 2.1 million, Univision had 1.5 million, ION Television had 1.4 million, Telemundo had 1.1 million and the CW had 810,000.
Fox News averaged 2.45 million viewers in primetime. MSNBC had 1.73 million, USA had 1.45 million, ESPN had 1.42 million and HGTV had 1.39 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” stayed in first among the evening newscasts with a 7.7 million viewer average. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 7.2 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.4 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for June 18-24. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “America’s Got Talent,” NBC, 11.86 million.
2. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.6 million.
3. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 6.55 million.
4. “World of Dance,” NBC, 6.22 million.
5. “NCIS,” CBS, 5.82 million.
6. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 5.77 million.
7. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 5.714 million.
8. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 5.707 million.
9. “Code Black,” CBS, 5.705 million.
10. “Instinct,” CBS, 5.63 million.
11. “Little Big Shots,” NBC, 5.62 million.
12. “The $100,000 Pyramid,” ABC, 5.52 million.
13. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 4.96 million.
14. “Bull,” CBS, 4.93 million.
15. “Mom,” CBS, 4.6 million.
16. “Elementary,” CBS, 4.54 million.
17. “To Tell The Truth,” ABC, 4.53 million.
18. “Mom” (Monday), CBS, 4.4 million.
19. “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 4.37 million.
20. “NCIS: New Orleans,” 4.31 million.
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.; CBS is a division of CBS Corp.; Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox; NBC is owned by NBC Universal.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More