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    NBA Finals Top Week’s Nielsen Ratings

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments3720 Views
    Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, center, reaches for the ball between Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut, left, and forward Draymond Green during the first half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, June 2, 2016. (John G, Mabanglo, European Pressphoto Agency via AP, Pool)

    By David Bauder, Television Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    The second straight NBA Finals matchup between Golden State and Cleveland got off to a promising start for ABC, but the network has to be hoping the series becomes more competitive in a hurry.

    The first two games averaged 18.3 million viewers, the Nielsen company said on Tuesday. Except for last year’s two-game average of 18.5 million, it’s the best start for the NBA Finals for viewers since the 2001 series between Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

    But the trend line isn’t good: while the first game had 19.2 million viewers, Sunday night’s blowout win for the Warriors dropped to 17.5 million, Nielsen said. It was the opposite last year, where an overtime second game outdrew the series opener.

    Unless Cleveland can get back into it when the series heads east on Wednesday, viewership interest will likely continue to fade.

    The Simon Cowell effect was worth half a million viewers to NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” The series’ summer premiere, with Cowell as a new judge, drew nearly 11.7 million viewers last week. The season-opener with Howard Stern last year had 11.1 million viewers, Nielsen said.

    NBC’s summer variety series with Maya Rudolph and Martin Short had a moderately promising debut, reaching 6.3 million viewers on its first night.

    ABC won the week with an average of 6.9 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 4.9 million, NBC had 4.6 million, Fox had 2.8 million, Univision had 2.2 million, Telemundo had 1.41 million, ION Television had 1.37 million and the CW had 980,000.

    TNT was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.37 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 1.71 million, the Disney Channel had 1.57 million, HGTV had 1.56 million and USA had 1.55 million.

    ABC’s “World News Tonight” nipped its rivals at NBC in the nightly news evening race for its third win in a row. ABC averaged 7.8 million viewers, NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.7 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.5 million.

    Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for May 30-June 5. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

    1. NBA Finals: Cleveland vs. Golden State, Game 1, ABC, 19.2 million.

    2. NBA Finals: Cleveland vs. Golden State, Game 2, ABC, 17.49 million.

    3. NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City vs. Golden State, Game 7, TNT, 16 million.

    4. “America’s Got Talent,” NBC, 11.67 million.

    5. “NBA Finals Post-Game,” ABC, 9.15 million.

    6. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.27 million.

    7. “Game of Thrones,” HBO, 7.8 million.

    8. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 7.79 million.

    9. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.42 million.

    10. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 6.98 million.

    11. “Inside the NBA Playoffs,” TNT, 6.88 million.

    12. “Person of Interest,” CBS, 6.67 million.

    13. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 6.35 million.

    14. “NBA Countdown,” ABC, 6.27 million.

    15. “Maya & Marty,” NBC, 6.26 million.

    16. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 5.94 million.

    17. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 5.75 million.

    18. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 5.6 million.

    19. “Life in Pieces,” CBS, 5.52 million.

    20. “Person of Interest,” CBS, 5.49 million.

    Category:News
    Tags:NBANielsen



    Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe Reunite For “Nosferatu”

    Tuesday, December 24, 2024

    When Willem Dafoe enjoys working with a filmmaker, he'll often jump at the chance to do it again.

    The list of directors with whom the 69-year-old has worked with more than once is extensive, including Wes Anderson,Yorgos Lanthimos,Paul Schrader,Lars von Trier and, now for a third time, Robert Eggers. "If it's good, you come back," Dafoe said plainly.

    The pair spoke about Eggers' adaptation of "Nosferatu" that hits theaters Wednesday, some of the challenges they faced making "The Lighthouse" — their first project together released in 2019 — and the unique relationship that exists between actors and directors.

    The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

    Q: Willem, I read that you called Robert after you saw "The Witch." What did you say?

    DAFOE: I want to meet you and I want to know who this filmmaker is.

    Q: What is it about him that keeps bringing you back?

    DAFOE: Well, if it's good, you come back. When I saw "The Witch," I thought, "Wow, this is a film about a period that I'm not particularly knowledgeable about, but I enter it so easily. This is relevant. It's rooted. It's my story. I'm with these people."

    That's quite an incredible trick because a lot of period films, they're always pointing to themselves. They're always sending messages. They're always showing. This had a kind of energy and the kind of physicality and sensuality that I thought, "Who does this? I gotta see this guy." And then I had a wonderful experience in "The Lighthouse" and I played a part that was really fun in "The Northman." So, when he wants to do this passion project and offers me this beautiful role of Professor Von Franz, I say,... Read More

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