TNT and ESPN were the two most-watched networks on cable for the third straight week as the NBA playoffs continued to fuel both networks.
TNT averaged 3 million viewers in primetime for the week of May 20-May 26 to top all cable networks for the fifth straight week, according to Nielsen figures supplied by Fox News Media. Leading TNT’s ratings charge was the network’s May 26 Game 3 coverage of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals, which averaged 7.1 million viewers.
ESPN’s second-place average of 2.6 million viewers was bolstered by the 6.2 million viewers who tuned into its May 21 telecast of Game 1 of the Indiana Pacers-Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals.
Fox News Channel finished third with 2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1 million viewers and HGTV’s 695,000 viewers. Hallmark Channel was sixth with 598,000 viewers, followed by USA Network (566,000 viewers), INSP (537,000), TBS (516,000) and CNN (481,000).
Fox News was the most-watched network on a 24-hour basis for the 20th consecutive week with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (764,000 viewers), ESPN (726,000), TNT (650,000) and CNN (428,000), according to Nielsen.
