By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --More than 8 million people took in Fourth of July fireworks on television this year, watching NBC's coverage of the Macy's New York City celebration in one of two helpings.
The two-hour fireworks presentation drew 4.9 million viewers to NBC at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, and 3.3 million watched a condensed version of the same show shortly after it ended.
Traditionally, the week encompassing Independence Day is one of the least-watched television weeks of the year. The only other program to reach more than 7 million viewers in prime time was NBC's summer favorite, "America's Got Talent."
NBC won the week with an average of 2.9 million viewers in primetime. CBS was second with 2.6 million, ABC had 2.3 million, Fox had 1.6 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 1 million.
TNT, riding three games of the NBA Conference Finals, led the cable networks with an average of 2.141 million in primetime. Fox News Channel had 2.139 million, ESPN had 1.58 million, MSNBC had 1.36 million and HGTV had 1.09 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" led the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.5 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.4 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.8 million.
For the week of June 28-July 4, the most popular primetime programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. "America's Got Talent," NBC, 7.08 million.
2. NBA Conference Finals: Phoenix at L.A. Clippers (Wednesday), ESPN, 5.86 million.
3. NBA Conference Finals: L.A. Clippers at Phoenix (Monday), ESPN, 5.75 million.
4. NBA Conference Finals: Atlanta at Milwaukee (Saturday), TNT, 5.24 million.
5. "Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks," NBC, 4.9 million.
6. NBA Conference Finals: Milwaukee at Atlanta (Thursday), TNT, 4.84 million.
7. "60 Minutes," CBS, 4.66 million.
8. NBA Conference Finals: Atlanta at Milwaukee (Tuesday), TNT, 4.63 million.
9. "NCIS," CBS, 3.72 million.
10. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 3.64 million.
11. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 3.59 million.
12. "Hannity" (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.54 million.
13. "The $100,000 Pyramid," ABC, 3.49 million.
14. "FBI: Most Wanted," CBS, 3.37 million.
15. "The Bachelorette," ABC, 3.32 million.
16. "The Price is Right," CBS, 3.29 million.
17. "FBI," CBS, 3.27 million.
18. "Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), 3.252 million.
19. "American Ninja Warrior," NBC, 3.25 million.
20. "Bob Hearts Abishola," CBS, 3.21 million.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More