Primetime Ratings: ESPYs Down But ABC Prevails

ABC got top spot in Wednesday prime ratings, with the 2019 ESPYs leading the net to a 0.9 in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and a 5 share. In second was CBS at 0.7/4.

ABC had the ESPY Awards, saluting the best and brightest in sports, on throughout prime. Tracy Morgan hosted at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Last year’s ESPYs did a 0.9. In 2017, they tallied a 1.4 and in 2016 a 1.6.

CBS had Love Island at 0.6, same as it opened to the night before. Big Brother lost 9% for a 1.0 and a SWAT repeat filled out the rest of prime.

Fox got a 0.6/4. MasterChef did a level 0.7 and First Responders Live grew 25% for a 0.5.

NBC and Telemundo both scored a 0.5/3. NBC had repeats of Ellen’s Game of Games and Songland, then The InBetween went up 33% to 0.4.

On Telemundo, Betty en NY got a 0.5 and La Reina del Sur a 0.7. The day before, Betty landed a 0.5 and La Reina a 0.6.

Univision scored a 0.4/2, with La Reina Soy Yo and La Rosa de Guadalupe both rating a 0.4.

The CW scored a 0.3/1. A Penn & Teller: Fool Us rerun led into Jane the Virgin at a flat 0.2. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.