By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Baseball’s All-Star Game edged down to a record low in viewership as it reversed last year’s increase.
According to Nielsen ratings released Tuesday, Major League Baseball’s exhibition game last week drew 8.7 million viewers on Fox.
That’s just under the previous record low of 8.71 million viewers in 2016, and about 6 percent less than 2017’s audience of 9.28 million.
Although the game ranked as the week’s No. 2 program, it was topped by NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” which drew 11.3 million.
Maybe predictability is part of the problem: The American League beat the National League 8-6 for its sixth straight win. Those who skipped the game missed seeing a record 10 home runs, nearly double the previous high.
Summertime series reruns have driven viewers into the arms of reality and competition shows, which claimed half of the top 10 spots.
NBC was the week’s winning network in U.S. prime-time viewing, averaging 4.3 million viewers. CBS had 3.8 million, ABC had 3.4 million, Fox had 3.3 million, ION Television had 1.36 million, Telemundo had 1.17 million, Univision had 1.14 million and the CW had 790,000 viewers.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” led the evening newscasts with an average of 7.8 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.2 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.5 million.
Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.38 million viewers. MSNBC had 1.89 million, USA had 1.39 million, HGTV had 1.28 million and Hallmark had 1.26 million.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for July 16-22. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.33 million.
2. MLB All-Star Game, Fox, 8.7 million.
3. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 7.69 million.
4. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 6.3 million.
5. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 6.08 million.
6. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.06 million.
7. “World of Dance,” NBC, 5.9 million.
8. “Home Run Derby,” ESPN, 5.6 million.
9. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 5.56 million.
10. “Young Sheldon,” CBS. 5.5 million.
11. “NCIS,” CBS, 5.49 million.
12. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 5.46 million.
13. “Code Black,” CBS, 5.37 million.
14. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 5.25 million.
15. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 5.19 million.
16. “$100,000 Pyramid,” ABC, 5.09 million.
17. “Dateline NBC” (Monday), NBC. 4.89 million.
18. “Bluebloods,” CBS, 4.4 million.
19. “Bull,” CBS, 4.394 million.
20. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 4.392 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.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More