First-available Nielsen numbers has Tuesday pretty close in total viewers
NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” had a fine Tuesday night, but not fine enough to knock off ABC’s NBA Finals tipoff game. That’s OK — everyone knew Suns-Bucks would be broadcast’s main draw.
Due to the nature of live sports, the below initial Nielsen numbers for ABC should be considered subject to significant adjustment; these should only rise.
The home team Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-105 last night. Phoenix point guard Chris Paul poured in 32 points and added 9 assists. On the losing end, Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 20 points and nabbed 17 rebounds.
ABC was first in ratings with a 1.8 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 5.7 million, according to preliminary numbers. The first 30 minutes of ABC’s (East Coast) primetime, “Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night,” had a 1.2 demo rating and 4.6 million total viewers. Pregame show “NBA Countdown” occupied the following half-hour, and then it was time for tipoff.
Game 2 of the 2021 NBA Finals is set for Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. ABC can’t wait.
NBC was second in ratings with a 0.7 and in total viewers with 5.5 million. “America’s Got Talent” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. averaged a 0.8 rating and 6.9 million total viewers. “Capitol One College Bowl” at 10 got a 0.4 rating and 2.7 million total viewers.
NBC returns its own championship series tonight, when the puck drops on Game 5 of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning gets another crack to close out the series.
Fox was third in ratings with a 0.4 and fourth in total viewers with 1.3 million. “Lego Masters” at 8 had a 0.5 rating and 1.6 million total viewers. At 9, “Mental Samurai” got a 0.3 and 1 million total viewers.
CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.3 and fourth in total viewers with 3.4 million, airing all reruns.
The CW was fifth in ratings with a 0.1 and in total viewers with 583,000. “The Flash” at 8 had a 0.2 rating and 770,000 total viewers. A repeat followed.
We do not have Nielsen numbers for Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo.
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio