Ratings: ABC’s ‘Billboard Music Awards’ Slip, But They Still Crush Competition

Live show means Disney broadcaster’s Nielsen numbers are subject to adjustment

Drake
Drake poses in the press room during the 2017 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Drake owned the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night, when host network ABC dominated the Nielsen numbers.

Per very preliminary numbers, which are not time zone-adjusted, the Disney-owned broadcaster earned a 2.0 rating/8 share and an average of 7.2 million total viewers across primetime. Those were dragged down by a 7 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” season finale (a 1.1/5 and 5.4 million viewers), but the BBMAs (2.3/9 and 7.7 million viewers) also slipped year over year.

ABC’s ratings may rise when final fast nationals are out within an hour or so — we’ll see soon enough.

NBC and Fox tied for second in ratings, both with a 0.8/3 in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic. NBC was third in total viewers with 4.4 million, Fox was fourth with 1.8 million.

For NBC, “Dateline” at 7 put up a 0.9/4 and 4.8 million viewers. At 9, “Shades of Blue” received a 0.7/2 and 3.8 million viewers. That show’s season finale at 10 held steady in the demo and ticked up to 4 million total viewers.

For Fox, following a rerun, the season finale of “Bob’s Burgers” at 7:30 had a 0.7/3 and 1.6 million viewers. The “Simpsons” season finale at 8 got a 0.9/4 and 2.1 million viewers. What will be the “Making History” series finale at 8:30 settled for a 0.6/2 and 1.3 million viewers. At 9, the first half-hour of the “Family Guy” season finale received a 1.0/4 and 2.2 million viewers. The second 30 minutes at 9:30 remained flat in the demo, but rose to 2.2 million viewers.

CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.7/3, but second in viewers with 6.7 million. At 7, “60 Minutes” posted a 0.8/3 and 7.9 million viewers. A second hour at 8 landed the same demo numbers, but dipped to 7.5 million viewers. The “Madam Secretary” season finale at 9 had a 0.7/2 and 7.5 million viewers. At 10, the “Elementary” finale managed a 0.5/2 and 4.1 million viewers.

Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4. Univision had a 2 share, Telemundo got a 1. Univision was fifth in total viewers with 1.2 million, Telemundo was sixth with 992,000.

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