TNT Wins First Summer Weekly Ratings Title

Fresh off its May monthly ratings win, TNT continued its viewership momentum by finishing atop the first official summer cable weekly primetime ratings chart.

The network, which benefited from strong viewership performances from its NBA playoffs telecasts, averaged 2.2 million viewers for the week of May 30 to June 5 to top second place Fox News’ 1.7 million viewers, according To Nielsen.

HGTV, Disney Channel and USA tied for third with 1.5 million viewers, followed History, Discovery channel and TBS, all tied with 1.3 million viewers. Lifetime, Food Network, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery also finished in a tie to round out the top 10.

Kid’s targeted networks Nickelodeon and Disney finished as the top two most watched networks on a 24-hour basis, followed by Fox News, Adult Swim and TNT.

Most watched networks during the week of May 30 to June 5

Date    Show                                                               Network                     Total viewers

5/30   NBA Playoffs (OKC-Golden State)                   TNT                             15.9 million

6/5     Game Of Thrones                                            HBO                               7.8 million

5/30   Inside The NBA                                               TNT                                6.8 million

5/30   WWE Monday Night Raw (9-10 pm)              USA                                3.3 million

5/30   WWE Monday Night Raw (8-9 pm)                USA                                3.2 million

5/30   WWE Monday Night Raw (10-11:09)             USA                                3.0 million

5/30   NBA Pre-Game Show                                    TNT                                3.0 million

6/4     Toy Story 3                                                    Disney                             2.9 million

6/2     The O’Reilly Factor                                       Fox News                        2.9 million

6/1     The O’Reilly Factor                                       Fox News                        2.9 million

Source: Nielsen

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.