Some misguided NBA enthusiasts on the social internet reveled Wednesday at the possibility of future NBA Finals telecasts no longer festooned with the omnipresent YouTube TV logo, perhaps assuming the ascendance of Comcast’s Xfinity pay TV platform as the league’s “Official TV Service” meant that the Google/Alphabet-owned vMVPD's marketing role had somehow been replaced. 

But that's not what's happening, a league source told Next TV Thursday. 

It is true that as part of the NBA’s new $2.5 billion-a-season deal with Comcast's NBCUniversal unit, Comcast Cable’s Xfinity brand will become the “official TV service” of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball (despite the fact that more than 2 million users bolted the platform in 2023 alone).

Also Read: NBA Says Warner ‘Didn’t Match the Terms’ of Amazon’s Proposal, Enters Long-Term TV Deal With Online Retail Giant

“The partnership includes collaboration on marketing and storytelling opportunities, virtual signage during game telecasts and activations at marquee NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball events,” the league said in an announcement about the broader deal. 

YouTube TV has paid to occupy the role of "presenting sponsor" of the NBA Finals since 2018, and that role is not changing, our source told us, noting that the Google and NBCU deals “are not in conflict.” 

That won’t be welcome news to everyone. 

After watching the 2023 NBA Finals featuring the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, Awful Announcing writer Devin Raab noted: “The degree to which these ads are omnipresent is breathtaking even by modern sports standards. For starters, the NBA Finals logo itself has ‘Presented by YouTube TV’ officially attached underneath it, meaning that every time you see that logo in branding either throughout the stadium or in graphics, you are also seeing the gaudy, red YouTube TV logo. There are also, throughout these broadcasts, commercial spots for YouTube TV and narrated voiceovers explaining that these games are sponsored by YouTube TV. You would think this would be sufficient, that this alone would represent so much product placement that any more would be overkill; after all, by tethering the YouTube TV logo to the Finals logo, you’re seeing it almost everywhere you look throughout the stadium, including the stanchion of the hoop and the chairs the players are sitting on. But oh no, this is merely the tip of the iceberg.”

After a soft opening, the NBA Finals posted resurgent audience numbers in Game 2, with the Boston Celtics’ 105-98 victory Sunday over the Dallas Mavericks generating an average audience of 12.063 million viewers for ABC, the biggest viewership for an NBA title series second game since 2019. 

Also read: MVP-Less NBA Finals See TV Ratings Crater at a Conspicuous $76 Billion Moment

This came after last week’s opener, a Celtics blowout, scored just 10.99 million viewers, the worst nonpandemic Game 1 since 2007.

Sunday’s game, which started at 10 p.m. ET, was far more competitive, with the Celtics holding only a three-point lead at halftime. 

Game 3 is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday from Dallas. 

The Boston Celtics' easy win over the Dallas Mavericks Thursday on ABC produced an average of just 10.99 million viewers, making it the worst audience scorer for a non-pandemic-year NBA Finals Game 1 since the mid-market San Antonio Spurs embarked on a lopsided sweep of a young LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2007. 

The viewership was down 5% from last year's also-tepid Game 1 Finals, which featured Denver beating Miami. And it was the sixth worst rated Finals opener in the entire era of Nielsen audience measurement. Thursday night's game did outpace the 2020 "Bubble Finals" Game 1 and the 2021 opener, which was also impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For their part, the NBA and TV partner Disney/ESPN tried to put a nice spin on the ol' ratings ball, noting that ABC's 20.3 audience share was the largest for a Finals opener ever. 

But given the size of the overall broadcast TV market these days, large audience shares certainly don't mean as much. 

Boston jumped on Dallas from the start, leading by 17 after the first quarter, and by 21 at the half, so a lot of viewers undoubtedly tuned out, affecting the viewer average. The league and Dallas are certainly hoping for a more competitive contest in Game 2 on Sunday.

The Finals are unfurling, of course, as the NBA gets ready to make Disney/ESPN, Comcast/NBCUniversal and Amazon sign on the dotted lines of TV deals totally $76 billion over the next 11 years. 

ESPN tips off its NBA Finals coverage tonight (June 6) on ABC with hopes that the Boston Celtics-Dallas Mavericks title matchup will attract both hardcore and casual hoops fans.

The league enters the finals after overall NBA playoffs ratings dropped 11% to 4.10 million viewers across ABC, ESPN TNT and NBA TV compared to last year, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by SportsMedia Watch. 

Despite declining NBA playoff ratings, ESPN VP of acquisitions Matt Kenny believes that the Celtics-Mavericks matchup is a marquee battle between two teams with several superstars: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Celtics and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks. 

Also Read: NBA Closing In on $76 Billion in TV Money Over 11 Years … With No TNT

“We couldn’t be happier with the storylines that have presented themselves for the finals,” Kenny said. “Obviously, Boston has been tremendous for several years now, and then you had an incredible playoff run by the Dallas Mavericks. We think the Celtics and Mavericks are going to be a lot of fun for fans.”

ABC will look to top the 11.64 million viewers generated by last year’s NBA Finals, in which the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games. Kenny says with both teams taking different paths to get to the NBA Finals — the Celtics were prohibitive favorites to win the Eastern Conference. while the Mavericks were mostly underdogs in the West — the series offers a contrasting scenario for viewers. 

“We always like to say that fans are very smart, and opportunities like this where you have genuine heat and genuine star power on a national stage should generate genuine interest in the series,” Kenny said. 

Headlining a new Finals announcing team for ABC is veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Breen along with two new analysts, J.J. Redick and Doris Burke, the first woman to announce an NBA Finals on television. Burke, who has announced the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio since 2020, said the appeal of young players like the Celtics’ Tatum and the Mavs’ Doncic should draw fans to the series.

“I don’t know what the ratings are going to say,” Burke said earlier this week during an NBA Finals conference call. “I can only tell you that I could not be more excited that two young stars are on the stage with an opportunity to grow viewership.”

Averaging over 11.9 million viewers on ABC Sunday evening, the NBA Finals delivered a better-than-expected matchup, with consistently underrated underdogs the Miami Heat once again rising up in the fourth quarter to surprisingly and dramatically steal Game 2 from the heavily favored Denver Nuggets. 

But the pundits behind popular sports media business blog Awful Announcing remained transfixed -- and highly annoyed by -- the advertising bombardment put forth by the official "presenting sponsor" of the NBA Finals, YouTube TV. 

The blog concedes the Finals have been competitive and fun through the first two games (Game 3 is Wednesday evening). "Unfortunately," it notes, "the series also promises to be a hellacious eyesore to actually sit down and watch, because ABC and the NBA have allowed so many obtrusive YouTube TV ads to smother it through the first two games that the Finals have come off more as a tacky YouTube TV infomercial than a prominent, significant sporting event.

In Devin Raab's compelling analysis, headlined "YouTube TV ads are ruining the look of the NBA Finals," the writer also makes this bold claim: "The degree to which these ads are omnipresent is breathtaking even by modern sports standards."

There is no official tally, but there do seem to be a lot of expressions of the "NBA Finals Presented By YouTube TV" logo. That's starts with a heartstrings-tugging 30-second spot, titled "We Are All in The NBA Finals," produced by the league, promoting itself and its keynote sponsor (see below).

This year's NBA Finals spot is narrated by John Malkovich and includes cameos from Tony Hawk, Jimmy Kimmel, Payton Manning, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, among others. (Next TV likes this ad, but nearly tossed its TCL out the window a few weeks ago after it ran, for like the 12th time during Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals on ABC, just as Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was going absolutely off on our Lakers in the third quarter. Someone guard him!) 

Of course, the NBA puts some annual iteration of this self-reverential Finals spot in heavy rotation via its broadcast TV partner every postseason, but what Awful Announcing astutely notes is the sheer extreme volume of YouTube brand messaging beyond the commercials. 

This starts at the beginning of each Finals game, the site says, when "you first have to see a colossal YouTube TV logo ident, complete with a loud, space-aged sound effect and play-by-play man Mike Breen announcing to everyone that the event is presented by YouTube TV, just in case that wasn’t abundantly clear already."

Then there's the visual three-point logo barrage on the playing floor itself. At the Nuggets' Ball Arena for Games 1 and 2, not only were two YouTube TV logos prominently positioned on the floor of each half-court area, the branding "NBA Finals Presented by YouTube" TV was also festooned on each side of the court. 

There was also YouTube TV branding on the press/announcer's desk. 

As this screen shot captured by Awful Announcing shows, you can be perpetually  bombarded with three or more YouTube TV logos as the game unfurls. 

"When all the table ads are promoting YouTube TV, it briefly creates one of the most hideous images you’ll ever see in an American sporting event -- an equinox in which three different gargantuan, impossible-to-miss ads for the same product are not just on the same side of the court at the same time, but are so close to one another other that they’re practically touching," Raab wrote. 

OK, so Awful Announcing has called a flagrant foul penalty 2 -- the serious kind -- on the league and its sponsor. We're going to say it's at least a common foul. 

Of course, to the league and its sponsor, none of this is necessarily surprising, or even disturbing. YouTube signed a multiyear deal with the league back in 2018 to be its first ever "presenting sponsor" for the Finals.

Notably, the NBA has a similar deal with YouTube and Google parent company Alphabet that makes Google Pixel the presenting sponsor of NBA playoff games leading into the Finals. 

We couldn't find monetary figures for these sponsorship deals, but they undoubtedly don't come cheap. 

ABC will tip off coverage of its 21st consecutive NBA Finals tonight with Game 1 between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat. 

The NBA Finals features the Western Conference champion Nuggets — who are playing in the Finals for the first time in their 47 years in the league — against the Eastern Conference champion Heat, who enter the finals as the first eighth seed since the 1998-99 New York Knicks.

The league heads into the finals on a ratings roll. NBA playoff games averaged 4.7 million viewers across TNT, ESPN and ABC — up 13% from last year and its best performance heading into the finals since 2012, according to Nielsen numbers reported by Sports Business Journal.

The numbers were bolstered by a strong conference finals round that averaged 7.6 million viewers, up 10% from last year. TNT’s May 29 Heat-Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 telecast led all games with 11.9 million viewers, the most watched conference finals game on the network since TNT’s 2018 Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets game, according to SBJ. 

Last year’s Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals on ABC averaged 12.7 million viewers.

Veteran NBA announcer Mike Breen will call the games along with analysts Jeff Gundy and Mark Jackson, with Lisa Salters reporting during the telecasts. ABC will deploy 55 total cameras during the finals, including 15 Super Slo-Mo Cameras to capture the action, according to the network. 

ABC's NBA Finals Television Schedule (Start times EST)

June 1 -- Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets, 8:30 pm

June 4 -- Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets, 8:30 pm

June 7 -- Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat, 8:30 pm

June 9 -- Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat, 8:30 pm

June 12 -- Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets, 8:30 pm (If necessary)

June 15 -- Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat, 8:30 (If necessary)

June 18 -- Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets, 8:30 (If necessary)

ESPN is entering the hot summer months with some ratings momentum fueled by year-to-year audience increases from its NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals coverage on broadcast network ABC and its coverage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

ABC’s June coverage of the six-game Golden State Warriors-Boston Celtics NBA Finals averaged 12.4 million viewers, up 22% from last year’s COVID-delayed Milwaukee Bucks-Phoenix Suns finasl and the most-watched NBA Finals in three years, according to Nielsen. ABC’s Colorado Avalanche-Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup Final last month averaged 4.6 million viewers, posting an 84% average viewership increase from NBC’s July 2021 Lightning-Montreal Canadiens final. 

Heading into Wimbledon’s finals weekend, ESPN was averaging nearly 620,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, up 41% from 2021’s coverage of the Grand Slam tournament. 

With Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby, the WNBA’s postseason and the start of the 2022 college football campaign, ESPN is bullish about its summer ratings run, according to network senior VP of programming and planning Freddy Rolón, who recently spoke to Multichannel News. An edited version of the interview appears below: 

MCN: Do the strong ratings gains for the NHL and NBA Finals signal that the TV sports industry has returned to normal two years after the pandemic? 

Freddy Rolón: I feel like what we're seeing is the steady comeback of sports and sports viewership. There's a tendency to talk about pre-pandemic versus today, but it still feels like we’re in the pandemic. We were able to get through the [NBA and NHL] finals, but it’s easy to forget how a few months ago the NHL’s scheduled Olympic break became a COVID break. So we're still dealing with some of the effects of COVID even though we were lucky enough to kind of keep both seasons on track in terms of where they fell on the schedule. I think we as fans — both as viewers and as programmers — are still trying to deal with getting back to normal. Thinking through 2020, it seems like centuries away but we’re still coming out of it. We're getting there, but I think we may have a little short term memory on how close we are to it still. 

MCN: Having said that, were you surprised at the ratings performance for both the NBA and NHL postseason?

FR: Honestly, I would say surprised and very pleased. The playoff runs for the NHL and NBA helped fuel ESPN’s second-quarter ratings, which were up 22% in primetime — the best since 2014. We topped cable viewers 18-49 for total day, and a lot of that was driven up not only by the live playoff games, but the studio shows which gave us a lift. The ability to talk about what was happening in games allows us to continue the conversation with fans beyond the live games throughout the quarter. 

MCN: How do the ratings for the two finals bode for the importance of live sports programming on linear TV? 

FR: It shows that there is an audience that is seeking this content on linear platforms. With the NHL especially, all of the games were available across platforms, but live sports has been a driver for us consistently on linear. We can point to our success in college sports this past season, which were up consistently across the board on our linear platforms. Just in the second quarter alone, WNBA games were up 15% year to year; the NBA Draft was up 28%; and PGA Championship golf coverage was up 12%. Our Formula One races on ESPN were up 11%. Our women’s softball coverage had its best ratings since 2011 and the men’s baseball playoffs were up 20%. There’s a consistent story that we have to share of how sports are consistently drawing bigger audiences. 

MCN: How do you then balance your success on the linear side with reaching fans with live sports content on the digital platform?

FR: [ESPN president] Jimmy Pitaro says it really well with regards to operating on parallel paths here — growing one does not have to come at the expense of the other. There’s nothing that stops us from growing both businesses and working with audiences across those platforms. The strategy for those platforms differs sport by sport. With Wimbledon, for example, the Centre Court matches are on ESPN, and ESPN Plus covers the matches on the other courts. That expands our coverage of the event. We’re able to deliver more sports content through ESPN Plus that gives fans a deeper dive into the sports that they love that might not be available on ESPN. So from my standpoint, there’s room for both. They’re not necessarily competitive, but additive for us.

MCN: How do you see the network continuing to build its ratings momentum throughout the rest of the summer? 

FR: We’ve had great ratings for Wimbledon and I’m excited to see how [baseball's] Home Run Derby does. We’re also looking forward to the college football season, which is just around the corner — I think that’s going to help us continue the trend.  ■

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of June 13-19, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

U.S. Open coverage scored with TV audiences over the weekend, picking up 2.71% of all minutes watched to lead the way from June 13-19. The event appeared on both NBC and USA Network from Thursday through Sunday.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• Games five and six of the NBA Finals combined for 1.97% of watch-time, as the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Boston Celtics to win the championship on Thursday.
• Interest was high for live sports on the week, with Major League Baseball climbing from No. 7 to No. 5 by minutes watched, and the 2022 Men’s College World Series and the Stanley Cup Finals both appearing among the top 10 programs as well.
• Law & Order returns to our weekly rankings, hopping from No. 35 to No. 20 week-over-week by watch-time.
• MSNBC’s coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings was a hit in primetime, as The January 6th Hearings: The House Investigates tallies 0.43% of minutes watched (24th in our ranking).

ABC remains on top of our list of most-watched networks thanks in part to both the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals. While the NBA’s champion was crowned, the Stanley Cup is just getting started as the Colorado Avalanche take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The network scored 8.17% of watch-time – up from 7.30% the previous week.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from June 13-19:

• U.S. Open coverage helped spring NBC up from No. 3 to No. 2 week-over-week, while USA moves from No. 12 to No. 11.
• MSNBC’s primetime airings of the Jan. 6 hearing helped move the network from No. 13 to No. 10 by watch-time week-over-week.
• Paramount Network climbs from No. 34 to No. 23 by minutes watched week-over-week, as the network continues to lean into Yellowstone.
• FX and INSP are also newcomers to our top 25 network rankings this week, with the former receiving a boost from Jeff Bridges drama The Old Man.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The NBA Finals hang onto the impressions lead for one more week, securing 2.65 billion (6.14% of the total) over the series’ final two games. That edged out the U.S. Open for the top spot, as the golf event sits second with 2.33 billion (5.40% of the week’s impressions).

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

• News and talk continue to deliver a large share of impressions on TV, accounting for 16 of the top 25 programs in our ranking from June 13-19.
• Speaking of news, impressions for CBS Mornings rise 16% week-over-week as the program climbs from No. 15 to No. 10 in our ranking.
• ABC World News Tonight With David Muir also witnesses its own impressions jump, up nearly 20% week-over-week.
• With the field narrowed to the final two teams, the NHL moves from No. 17 to No. 6 in our ranking.

ABC stays at No. 1 for another week in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking, scoring 17.24% of impressions. That’s up from 14.14% the previous week.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

• U.S. Open TV ad impressions helped fuel a 27% week-over-week increase for NBC (plus a 203% climb for USA Network, which also aired portions of the tournament).
• For the second consecutive week, three of the top six networks by impressions served are cable news channels (Fox News at No. 3, MSNBC at No. 5 and CNN at No. 6).
• As baseball interest rises, so do MLB Network TV ad impressions – climbing 11% week-over-week.
• Bravo leaps from No. 23 to No. 19 by impressions, on the strength of various Real Housewives franchise programs, among others.

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of June 12, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The NBA Finals remained appointment viewing as games three and four combined to secure 1.58% of all minutes watched from June 6-12. It’s the second straight week the series between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors is No. 1 by watch-time among all programs.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• College baseball is a hit, with minutes watched climbing from No. 11 to No. 3 week-over-week as the postseason continues to narrow.
• Fox News programs Fox & Friends and America’s Newsroom end a one-week hiatus outside of the top 25 in our ranking, landing at No. 14 and No. 20 this week, respectively.
• Even after its season nine finale, Chicago P.D. climbs from No. 37 to No. 15 by watch-time as audiences catch up on ION and USA Network.
• Speaking of Chicago, Chicago Fire roars from No. 21 to No. 8 week-over-week, via its own ION and USA syndication play.

ABC stays atop the list of most-watched networks, in part due to the NBA Finals. The network had 7.30% of watch-time on the week, up slightly from 7.23% from May 30-June 5 as audiences also tuned into ABC’s coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings in primetime on Thursday.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from June 6-12:

• USA springs from No. 16 to No. 12 by watch-time week-over-week, on a steady dose of syndicated procedurals plus WWE Monday Night Raw.
• MSNBC moves from No. 19 to No. 16 in our ranking, in part due to increased Thursday viewership around the Jan. 6 hearings.
• ESPN2 jumps from No. 32 to No. 17 week-over-week, via NCAA coverage including college baseball, the Women’s College World Series and the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
• The latest episode of Little People, Big World helped lift TLC from No. 20 to No. 17 week-over-week in our watch-time rankings.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

As the NBA Finals continue, the series once again nets the most TV ad impressions on the week, with 2.08 billion – 4.8% of the total. That’s down slightly from the previous week (5.3% of the total) as the final minutes of each game have become increasingly one-sided in the series.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

• College baseball doubles impressions week-over-week as the field gets close to the final eight teams headed to Omaha for the College World Series.
• ABC World News Tonight With David Muir is one of several news programs to increase impressions week-over-week, along with Fox & Friends, America’s Newsroom and NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt, among others.
• Resuming its five-episodes-per-week schedule after taking Memorial Day off the previous week, The View sees impressions increase by 33.8% week-over-week.
• Speaking of news and talk shows, they made up 14 of the top 25 programs by impressions in our ranking for June 6-12.

ABC remains No. 1 in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with 14.14% of impressions on the week. The NBA Finals accounted for 33.5% of those as advertisers continue to benefit from a tight series through four games.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

• Fox News increased impressions by more than 14% week-over-week.
• CNN and MSNBC both saw impressions leap thanks to Jan. 6 hearings coverage – as the former jumped by 10.8% and the latter by 31.8% week-over-week.
• Fox Sports 1 delivered more impressions on the week than Fox, via NASCAR Cup Series and UEFA Nations Cup action.
• CNBC hops from No. 26 to No. 20 in our ranking week-over-week, as stock market concerns continued to fuel greater interest in business-focused news.

The weekend’s lineup of TV sports events begins on Saturday with the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown. Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will look to return to the winner’s circle after skipping the Preakness Stakes race. 

The NHL Playoffs continue Saturday with Game six of the Eastern Conference finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers. The Lightning will look to close out the Rangers with a win and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the third straight year.

ABC’s coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors will air Monday. The Warriors evened the series at two games each with a win Friday night. 

On the baseball diamond, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the first place New York Mets against the Los Angeles Angels, while Peacock Sunday morning will stream the Oakland A’s-Cleveland Guardians game.  

The USFL enters its ninth week with two Saturday games including the New Jersey Generals-Michigan Panthers contest (NBC) and the Houston Gamblers-Birmingham Stallions matchup (USA Network.) On Sunday the Tampa Bay Bandits face the New Orleans Breakers on Fox, while the Philadelphia Stars battle the Pittsburgh Maulers on FS1. 

ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute the UFC 275 pay-per-view main event between light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka. In the boxing ring, ESPN will televise the Edgar Berlanga-Roamer Alexis Angulo super middleweight fight, while DAZN streams the Jaime Munguia-Jimmy Kelly super middleweight fight card.

On the race track, NBC on Sunday will televise the IndyCar Sonsio Grand Prix, while ESPN airs the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix and FS1 carries the NASCAR Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350 race. 

CBS and Golf Channel will hit the links with weekend coverage of  the PGA Canadian Open and the LPGA ShopRite Classic. 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of May 30-June 5, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The NBA Finals are just two games in, but that’s enough to secure a watch-time lead for the association’s championship round. Games one and two between the Boston Celtics and Golden States Warriors combined for 1.68% of all minutes watched from May 30-June 5 — No. 1 among all programs during the timeframe.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• French Open action swings to No. 2 by watch-time as audiences watched Rafael Nadal take the men’s title (the 14th time he’s done so), while Iga Świątek won her second French Open in three tries.
• Our rankings are littered with live sports, especially at the top. Beyond the NBA Finals and French Open, the NHL (No. 4), MLB (No. 7) and PGA Tour (No. 9) all finish in the top 10 as well.
• Seinfeld soars to No. 18 in our rankings thanks to a Comedy Central marathon, after not appearing among the top 50 programs by watch-time the previous week.
• Among the other syndicated sitcoms included in this week’s rankings: Friends (No. 12), The Golden Girls (No. 20) and Two and a Half Men (No. 23).

ABC leaps to the top spot as the most-watched network, thanks in part to the NBA Finals. The network had 7.23% of watch-time on the week, up from 6.14% from May 23-29, when it placed third in our rankings.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from May 30-June 5:

• HGTV climbs the ladder into the top 10 in our rankings, as audiences tuned into an abundance of Love It or List It episodes.
• Hallmark Channel also hops into the top 10 by minutes watched with an assist from the premiere of new movie Hidden Gems.
• History Channel bounds from No. 25 to No. 18 by watch-time week-over-week, in part due to a two-night documentary on Theodore Roosevelt.
• Paramount Network continues to lean into hit show Yellowstone, fueling a modest move from No. 23 to No. 21 by minutes watched week-over-week.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The NBA Finals scored the most TV ad impressions on the week, with 2.23 billion — 5.3% of the total. Those impressions are up nearly 40% year-over-year compared to the first two games of last year’s Finals, which took place in early July.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

• Despite the short week with the Memorial Day holiday, Good Morning America still increased TV ad impressions by over 6% compared to the previous week.
• MLB impressions increased by 63.7% week-over-week despite just four additional minutes of ad time (but this week featured action on ESPN, while the previous week had games on ESPN2 instead).
• The French Open’s later rounds led to more TV ad impressions, as the event delivered 175% more week-over-week.
• America’s Got Talent’s 17th season premiered on NBC on May 31, to the tune of 364.4 million impressions (0.86% of the total for the week and No. 18 in our ranking).

ABC nabs the top spot in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with 15.53 of impressions on the week. The NBA Finals accounts for over 32% of those after airing in primetime on Thursday night and Sunday night, respectively.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

• With new episodes almost nightly, La Casa de los Famosos helped fuel Telemundo’s move from No. 11 to No. 9 by impressions week-over-week.
• College baseball and the Women’s College World Series combined for almost 29% of TV ad impressions on ESPN2, pushing the network from No. 17 to No. 14 by impressions week-over-week.
• Lifetime more than doubled impressions week-over-week, thanks in part to the most recent “where are they now?” episode of Married at First Sight (30% of Lifetime impressions on the week).
• Bravo impressions rose by 29% week-over-week as the Real Housewives of Dubai premiered as the newest addition to the successful franchise.

After two games of the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors are knotted up at one win apiece. But for the entire playoffs, the Celtics actually remain ahead by minutes watched on TV.

Below, we utilize glass-level insights from Vizio’s Inscape, including a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs, to quantify the NBA playoffs on TV through game two of the finals.

• As mentioned, the Celtics have led the way, accounting for 30.38% of playoff minutes watched so far. While part of that lead comes from playing in the NBA Finals, Boston also benefits from playing in seven-game series in both the Eastern Conference Finals (against the Miami Heat) and semifinals (against the Milwaukee Bucks), which naturally boosts watch-time.
• The Warriors are second, at 28.63% of minutes watched due in part to playing in fewer games in the playoffs (18, versus 20 for the Celtics). Golden State won the Western Conference Finals in five games over the Dallas Mavericks, though that series was also well-watched with four of the top 10 games by share of playoff watch-time.
• Trailing the Celtics and Warriors were the Mavericks (21.45% of minutes watched), Heat (19.42%) and the Phoenix Suns (15.67%). Dallas and Miami both played in the conference finals, so more games by default. The Suns, on the other hand, were knocked out in the Western Conference Semifinals but were also the league’s best team this year, so had plenty of eyeballs on them from game-to-game.
• Boston’s lead will continue to extend throughout the NBA Finals now, as they’ll be involved in all remaining games. Despite a lopsided game two win for the Warriors on Sunday, the contest accounted for 3.10% of all NBA playoffs watch-time – slightly more than game one’s share of minutes watched (3.00%). However, game one has also drawn the largest share of the NBA playoffs TV audience, with 27.20% of viewers.
• The two NBA Finals games so far are the most-watched games of the NBA playoffs so far. Boston’s game seven win over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals is No. 3 at 2.04% of watch-time, and the Celtics game seven win over the Bucks before that is No. 4 at 1.93%. Golden State’s game one matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals is a surprising No. 5, with 1.90% of watch-time.
• Among some of the other interesting insights when looking at the NBA playoff audience data: The Toronto Raptors struggled to draw stateside viewers with three of the bottom five games by minutes watched (though, notably, all of those appeared on NBA TV instead of ABC/ESPN/TNT). Of the six play-in games before the full tournament field was set this year, April 15’s matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers accounted for the largest share of playoff minutes watched, with 0.77%.
• The largest TV markets also failed to factor into much of this year’s audience picture, with both the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks missing the playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers falling in the play-in games, and the Brooklyn Nets being swept in the first round. Having a well-watched playoff despite New York and L.A.’s relative absence is a positive sign for the league as it eyes its next TV deal.

This weekend’s lineup of TV sports events begins on the basketball court with ABC's  Game two coverage of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. The underdog Celtics took a 1-0 lead in the series with a surprise win on the road against the Warriors, who are making their sixth appearance in the NBA Finals over the past eight years. 

The French Open tennis tournament will conclude this weekend with NBC televising the women’s finals on Saturday between top-ranked Iga Swiatek and American Coco Gauff. On Sunday NBC will televise the men’s finals. 

On the ice, TNT on Saturday will televise Game three of the NHL Western Conference championship between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers. Colorado holds a 2 games to none lead in the best-of-seven series. On Sunday, ESPN will televise Game three of the Eastern Conference series between the New York Rangers and defending, two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Rangers held a 1-0 series lead going into Friday night’s contest.

The USFL enters its eighth week of action with Fox airing Sunday’s Michigan Panthers-Philadelphia Stars game, and NBC televising the Houston Gamblers-Tampa Bay Bandits contest.

Peacock’s weekly Sunday morning baseball game will feature the Detroit Tigers at the New York Yankees, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will pit the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs. 

In the ring, ESPN Saturday will televise live the George Kambosos-Devin Haney lightweight title fight from Australia. Showtime will also air a replay of its May 28 Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero pay-per-view bout. In the octagon, ESPN will air live a UFC Fight Night main event bout between heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.■  

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of May 23-29, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

With conference finals concluded, the NBA once again keeps its watch-time lead with 2.81% of all minutes watched from May 23-29. That’s up from 2.69% the previous week despite fewer games, as the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors both secured trips to the NBA Finals.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• Beyond the NBA, live sports remains hot, making up seven of the top 25 programs – including the NHL (No. 3), college softball (No. 9), college baseball (No. 11), PGA Tour golf (No. 13), French Open tennis (No. 15) and MLB (No. 16).
• Good Morning America and Today both make week-over-week moves by minutes watched, with the former jumping from No. 7 to No. 4 in our ranking.
• “Regular” SportsCenter is joined by SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt in our ranking. The two combined for 1.29% of minutes watched from May 23-29.
• NCIS moves from No. 6 to No. 2 in our ranking week-over-week, securing 0.90% watch-time.

CBS keeps the top spot as the most-watched network, thanks in part to the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge, which featured Sam Burns besting Scottie Scheffler in a playoff. The network had 6.61% of watch-time on the week.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from May 23-29:

• Watch-time increased for both CNN and MSNBC amid coverage of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
• In anticipation of Memorial Day cookouts, Food Network leaned into holiday-specific content – and saw total minutes watched rise from 1.23% to 1.36% week-over-week.
• Yellowstone wins again as Paramount Network climbs from No. 40 to No. 23 by watch-time week-over-week thanks in large part to marathon viewing of the show.
• NBC and ABC flip-flop as the former benefits from the Indy 500 (among other programming) to hop from No. 3 to No. 2 in our ranking week-over-week.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NBA TV ad impressions rose by over 6% week-over-week, with the conference finals delivering 3.25 billion impressions – or nearly 3.5 times more impressions than the nearest program (SportsCenter).

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

• With an assist from its two-part season 18 finale, Grey’s Anatomy arrives in our ranking at No. 25 by impressions, after finishing outside the top 50 the previous week.
• Speaking of finales, Survivor wrapped up season 42 and delivered 0.95% of TV ad impressions on the week (No. 18 in our ranking).
• National MLB game TV ad impressions climbed by nearly 5% week-over-week, while minutes of advertising climbed by slightly more (over 7% on the week).
• Today made big moves week-over-week, as impressions soared by almost 15% week-over-week, and the show’s third hour saw a 16% climb.

CBS leads our ad-impressions-by-network ranking once again, with 14.37% of impressions on the week. Quiz and giveaway shows (including The Price Is Right and Let’s Make A Deal) account for close to 20% of the network’s impressions for the week.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

• ESPN jumps from 6.3% to 7.7% of TV ad impressions week-over-week, with the NBA and NHL combining for nearly half of the network’s impressions from May 23-29.
• Discovery Channel boosts impressions by 18.7% week-over-week, leaning on new episodes of shows such as Expedition Unknown: Uncovered, Deadliest Catch and Street Outlaws: America’s List.
• Spanish-language networks Univision, Telemundo, and Galavision all make week-over-week gains by impressions share of voice, with Univision leading the way at 4.46% (No. 7 overall).
• History Channel climbs to No. 22 in our ranking (up from No. 24 the previous week), with TV ad impressions for The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch nearly doubling week-over-week.

ESPN Wednesday officially pulled on-air personality Rachel Nichols from any of its future NBA coverage and has canceled the Nichols-hosted NBA daily show The Jump amid continuing fallout over controversial comments she made against a former colleague.  

The move, first reported by SportsBusiness Journal, comes a month after a New York Times report revealed Nichols was heard making controversial comments about fellow ESPN colleague Maria Taylor, after Taylor replaced Nichols as host of ESPN’s NBA Countdown show during the NBA Finals in 2020. 

After Nichols' comments that Taylor was named NBA Countdown host to to cover up the network’s "crappy" record on diversity were made public, ESPN last month pulled Nichols from working the network’s NBA Finals coverage while Taylor hosted ESPN’s NBA Countdown pre-game and halftime program. After the NBA Finals concluded, Taylor left ESPN for NBC Sports.

ESPN senior VP of production Dave Roberts said in a statement that the decisions were “mutual” and the best moves for the network's NBA coverage going forward.  

In a Wednesday afternoon tweet, Nichols said The Jump was "never built to last forever," adding that her five-year experience with the show "was fun." 

It's unclear if Nichols will appear on the network in the future.

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 25.

It’s no surprise that a promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, airing across the networks of NBCUniversal, tops our Promo Mojo ranker for a second week in a row — this time racking up more than 668 million TV ad impressions in the week ended July 25.

Hallmark Channel takes second place to hype the series finale of Good Witch, while CBS shows some love for Love Island in third and Big Brother in fourth. Closing out the top five, TV Land promotes the final season of its original comedy-drama Younger.

Notably, the Younger spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (112), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBCUniversal networks

Impressions: 668,878,966

Interruption Rate: 2.84%

Attention Index: 99 (1% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 87%, Local 12%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $3,689,123

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $814,338

2)  Good Witch, Hallmark Channel

Impressions: 229,857,436

Interruption Rate: 6.53%

Attention Index: 105 (5% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 1%, VOD/OTT 0%

In-network Value: $1,169,674

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 222,052,593

Interruption Rate: 2.63%

Attention Index: 102 (2% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $1,942,904

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Big Brother, CBS

Impressions: 186,536,056

Interruption Rate: 2.90%

Attention Index: 98 (2% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $888,799

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Younger, TV Land

Impressions: 182,518,537

Interruption Rate: 2.17%

Attention Index: 112 (12% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 76%, Local 22%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $745,709

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

The below snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of July 19-25 highlights the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

After a thrilling NBA Finals, the Summer Olympics quickly hurdled into the lead for minutes watched on TV. During the week of July 19-25, the Olympics takes first place with 8.39% of watch-time. 

Good Morning America is No. 2 for the week, at 0.86% of watch-time, followed by the NBA Finals, despite just one game throughout the week (0.82%), MLB baseball (0.72%) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (0.70%). At No. 7, Friends is one of a handful of comedies sprinkled throughout this week’s rankings, including The Golden Girls (No. 12) and Two and a Half Men (No. 18). 

Despite the Olympics owning a lot of attention, it’s not the lone sports draw in this week’s rankings. As previously noted, both the NBA Finals and MLB are in the top five for minutes watched. PGA Tour golf is No. 11 (with 0.49% of watch-time), while SportsCenter is No. 14, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup is No. 21. 

Benefiting from the bump provided by the Olympics, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt rises from 30th to 17th by minutes watched for the week. Additionally, SpongeBob SquarePants bubbles up from outside the top 50 to No. 22. The Olympics is, of course, the biggest mover on the week, after not airing at all from July 12-18.

Also Read: Summer 2021 TV Premiere Dates

With an obvious push from the Olympics, NBC soars to the top of the watch-time ranking, with 10.3% of minutes watched from July 19-25. ABC drops one spot to second place at 6.48% of watch-time. CBS is No. 3 with 5.33%, followed by Fox News (3.76%) and Fox (3.36%) to round out the top five. Fox News and Fox flip-flop from the previous week, when Fox was No. 4.

USA Network benefits from the Olympics as well, swimming from No. 14 to No. 9, while NBC Sports Network makes its own leap from No. 40 to No. 21. Bravo sits at No. 25 on the week, with 1.06% of minutes watched.

Top Shows and Networks By TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

It shouldn’t surprise that the Olympics deliver the most TV ad impressions on the week, with 4.8 billion — all coming between Friday, July 23 and Sunday, July 25. The NBA Finals is second with 1.18 billion TV ad impressions, followed by Good Morning America (902 million), The Young and the Restless (697 million) and MLB baseball (604 million).

News and talk programming continues to be a large portion of the top 25 shows by TV ad impressions. From July 19-25, six of the top 10 were either news or talk-related, as were 10 of the top 25 overall. The Olympics boost NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt impressions as well, as the show surges from No. 20 the previous week all the way to No. 7.

NBC is at the top of the podium for the week's ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with over 7.1 billion from July 19-25. The Summer Olympics are clearly the biggest part of that leap (from 4.6 billion the previous week), though, as we’ve already noted, some of the network’s other shows also benefited from the increased eyeballs on the Games.

ABC takes silver for the week, with 5.8 billion TV ad impressions, while CBS gets the bronze with 4.2 billion. Fox News (3.8 billion) and MSNBC (2.4 billion) round out the top five. USA Network has nearly five times more impressions week-over-week as a result of airing Olympic events.

ESPN and on-air host Maria Taylor will part ways after the two parties failed to reach a contract extension, ESPN said Wednesday.

The departure of Taylor, who most recently hosted ESPN’s NBA Countdown pre-game and halftime show during the NBA Finals, comes weeks after she was embroiled in a controversy surrounding disparaging comments made against her by ESPN personality Rachel Nichols in a leaked 2020 phone call stating that Taylor was chosen as NBA Countdown host to cover up the network’s “crappy” record on diversity. Nichols eventually apologized for her remarks, but shortly after was pulled as a sideline reporter for this year’s NBA Finals telecasts and replaced with Malika Andrews. 

Also Read: ESPN's Rachel Nichols Sidelined for NBA Finals 

Taylor's last assignment for the network was Tuesday night’s NBA Finals telecast on ABC, according to ESPN.

“Maria’s remarkable success speaks directly to her abilities and work ethic,” said Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN and sports content chairman, in a statement. “There is no doubt we will miss Maria, but we remain determined to continue to build a deep and skilled talent roster that thoroughly reflects the athletes we cover and the fans we serve. While she chose to pursue a new opportunity, we are proud of the work we’ve done together.”

Taylor added in a statement: “So thankful to Jimmy and all of my great teammates and friends at the SEC Network, College GameDay, Women's and Men’s college basketball, and the NBA Countdown family — the people who believed in me, encouraged me, pushed me, and lifted me up. Words are inadequate to express my boundless appreciation, and I hope to make them proud.”

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 18.

NBC tops our ranking with a promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics that racked up more than half a billion TV ad impressions. Fellow traditional broadcasters CBS and ABC follow in second and third place to promote, respectively, Love Island and the 2021 NBA Finals.

The previous chart-topping promo, for Discovery’s Shark Week, drops to fourth place. 

Closing out the top five, HGTV builds excitement for Battle on the Beach.

Notably, the Shark Week spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (126), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBC

Impressions: 549,084,028

Interruption Rate: 2.16%

Attention Index: 104 (4% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 89%, Local 9%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $3,417,056

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $155,164

2) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 280,827,851

Interruption Rate: 2.37%

Attention Index: 100 (0% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 92%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $2,123,147

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) 2021 NBA Finals, ABC

Impressions: 220,840,887

Interruption Rate: 1.24%

Attention Index: 111 (11% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $3,407,784

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $250,536

4) Shark Week, Discovery

mpressions: 218,069,987

Interruption Rate: 1.37%

Attention Index: 126 (26% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $642,404

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $239,485

5) Battle on the Beach, HGTV

Impressions: 214,442,322

Interruption Rate: 1.17%

Attention Index: 105 (5% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 0%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $664,895

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

Our snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of July 12-18 shines a spotlight on the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Though the NBA Finals are still ongoing, a new program has taken the lead in terms of minutes watched on TV. During the week of July 12-18, the Open Championship (the British Open, to some) took first place with 1.92% of watch-time. After topping the previous week’s ranking, the NBA Finals fall one spot to second, with 1.26% of minutes watched.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit remains No. 3 for the week with 1.12% of watch-time, followed by Good Morning America (0.89%) and Today (0.70%). SVU is one of numerous dramas to appear in this week’s ranking. Some of the others include NCIS (No. 9), NCIS: New Orleans (No. 10), Gunsmoke (No. 13), Law & Order (No. 19), Forensic Files (No. 24) and Criminal Minds (No. 25).

Major League Baseball was off for much of the week, but still managed 0.43% of watch-time to rank No. 18 overall. However, the 2021 MLB All-Star Game is all the way up at No. 11, with 0.52% of minutes watched. The CONCACAF Gold Cup’s group stages are a few places ahead, ranking No. 8 before the soccer event transitions to the knockout rounds that should lead to a hotly anticipated championship match between rival U.S. and Mexican national teams.

Also Read: Summer 2021 TV Premiere Dates

ABC maintains its lead in the watch-time ranking for the second week in a row, thanks in part to the NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. The network has 6.97% of total minutes watched, keeping it ahead of NBC in second place with 6.37%. CBS is in third again, with 5.29% of watch-time. Fox rides sports to leap from No. 5 to No. 4 with 4.08% of minutes watched, while Fox News rounds out the top five at 3.94%.

IFC makes the chart’s biggest week-over-week leap, from not appearing among the top 50 to placing 10th overall. Discovery Channel rides Shark Week from No. 20 to No. 15. The Golf Channel, after splitting final round coverage of the Open Championship with NBC, jumps from No. 50 to No. 23 with 1.21% of watch-time. TV Land closes out the top 25 ranking for July 12-18, at 1.16% of minutes watched.

Top Shows and Networks By TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The NBA Finals deliver the most TV ad impressions yet again, with over 1.6 billion from July 12-18. Also topping the 1 billion impressions mark are both the 2021 Open Championship (1.4 billion) and Major League Baseball (1.1 billion). Good Morning America (872 million TV ad impressions) and Today (661 million) round out the top five.

News and talk programming makes up about 60% of this week’s top 25 shows by TV ad impressions. Sports are 20%, while reality TV is 12%. Speaking of reality TV, Big Brother and Love Island are among the biggest movers for the week, with each climbing more than five spots (Big Brother actually leaps from 23rd to 11th).

ABC stays on top of the week’s ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with over 6.2 billion from June 12-18. While ABC is airing the NBA Finals, NBC just completed the Open Championship and will be launching into Summer Olympics coverage shortly. NBC is No. 2 for the week, with 4.6 billion TV ad impressions.

Fox News edges up one spot to No. 3 with 4.13 billion impressions, followed by CBS (4.10 billion) and MSNBC (2.5 billion). Final round Open Championship coverage vaults the Golf Channel up from No. 19 to No. 11. Food Network moves from 25th up to 20th, while Investigation Discovery closes out the weekly ranking this time around.

This weekend’s live TV sports event schedule starts on the basketball court as ABC televises the fifth game of the NBA Finals matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. The Bucks travel back to Phoenix having tied up the series at two games a piece on the strength of their All-Star player Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In other sports, NBC and the Golf network will offer final coverage of the British Open golf tournament on Saturday and Sunday, while NBC will offer the final stage of the Tour de France cycling series.

CBS on Saturday will continue its coverage of the newly formed SRX auto racing series, while NBCSN on Sunday will offer coverage of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 NASCAR Cup event. 

On the combat sports front, ESPN on Saturday will feature a UFC Fight Night card featuring the Islam Makhachev-Thiago Moises lightweight main event bout, while Showtime will offer a Saturday night card featuring Jermell Charlo defending his junior middleweight title against Brian Castano.

ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast is scheduled to be the Boston Red Sox visiting the New York Yankees. ESPN was set to televise Thursday night's Red Sox-Yankees contest, but the game was postponed after several Yankees players tested positive for COVID-19.

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 11.

On the strength of 385.5 million TV ad impressions, a Discovery promo for Shark Week tops our chart.

Traditional broadcasters sweep the next three spots: CBS gives some love to Love Island in second, NBC sets the stage for the Tokyo Summer Olympics in third, and ABC promotes the NBA Finals in fourth.

Closing out the top five, TNT hypes the fifth season of its original drama Animal Kingdom.

Notably, the Shark Week spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (109), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Shark Week, Discovery

Impressions: 385,503,136

Interruption Rate: 1.52%

Attention Index: 109 (9% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 97%, Local 2%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $1,179,241

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $394,406

2) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 279,083,496

Interruption Rate: 2.50%

Attention Index: 106 (6% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 92%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,818,531

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $53,838

3) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBC

Impressions: 274,385,379

Interruption Rate: 1.95%

Attention Index: 101 (1% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 90%, Local 8%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,838,356

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $2,318

4) NBA Finals, ABC

Impressions: 238,583,625

Interruption Rate: 1.82%

Attention Index: 98 (2% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $4,942,549

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $349,528

5) Animal Kingdom, TNT

Impressions: 198,282,269

Interruption Rate: 3.42%

Attention Index: 85 (15% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 5%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $669,806

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $600,772

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

The weekend’s list of televised live sports events begins in the octagon Saturday night as ESPN Plus offers via pay-per-view the UFC 264 event pitting Conor McGregor against Dustin Poirier in the third match between the two mixed martial arts fighters. The second fight between the two won by Poirier this past January drew a reported 1.2 million pay-per-view buys. 

In other sports, ABC on Sunday will air game three of the NBA Finals, as the Phoenix Suns travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks, up 2-0 in the series. 

ESPN on Saturday morning will televise the women's final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, followed by the men’s final on Sunday morning.

From the links, NBC will air final round weekend coverage of the American Century Championship tournament, while CBS airs the PGA John Deere Classic on Saturday and Sunday. 

On the soccer field, ESPN on Sunday will air the finals of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament between Italy and England, while FS1 will air the CONCACAF Gold Cup match between Canada and Martinique. 

ESPN on Sunday will air the MLB Draft live as baseball heads into the All-Star break next week. 

Veteran ESPN personality Rachel Nichols will not report from the sidelines during ABC's NBA Finals telecasts this year amid controversial remarks Nichols made in 2020 about NBA Countdown host Maria Taylor. 

ESPN reported Monday that Malika Andrews will handle sideline reporting throughout the Milwaukee Bucks-Phoenix Suns NBA Finals series while Nichols hosts ESPN's The Jump daily NBA show. Nichols served as ABC's sideline reporter during last year’s NBA Finals that took place in the Orlando “bubble” last fall due to the pandemic. 

The move comes after an explosive July 4 New York Times report in which Nichols was unknowingly taped during a phone conversation in 2020 saying that Taylor's appointment as NBA Countdown host was made to cover up the network’s “crappy” record on diversity. Taylor, who is Black, hosted the NBA Countdown pre-game and halftime program during the 2020 NBA Finals. 

Read Also: ABC Tips Off NBA Finals Coverage

Nichols apologized for her remarks on ESPN’s The Jump show on Monday. The show did not air on Tuesday, but is expected to return on Wednesday, according to the New York Post.

ABC will televise the NBA Finals beginning Tuesday, July 6 as the Milwaukee Bucks tip off against the Phoenix Suns.

Game one of the series, also available on the ESPN App, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes, marks ABC’s 19th consecutive season televising the league’s championship round. Announcers Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson will call all the action for ABC.

Milwaukee, who will start the series without its injured All-Star player Giannis Antetokounmpo, is making its first NBA Finals appearance since 1974, when Kareem-Abdul Jabbar led the team to the championship round. Phoenix, led by veteran point guard Chris Paul, last appeared in the finals in 1993. 

Also Read: Q&A: NBA Legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar Champions U.S. Social Justice Movements in History Doc

Game two of the series will take place Thursday (July 8), followed by game three on Sunday (July 11) and game four (July 14). If necessary, ABC will air game five on July 17, game six on July 20 and game seven on July 22. 

Also Read: ESPN Finishes NBA Playoffs on High Note

Live sports programming has generated some strong ratings numbers so far this summer as fans settle into having their favorite sports events return to their traditional seasonal time periods.

The NBA playoffs have scored big for the league and for ESPN thus far. The league’s conference semifinal round which ended June 20th averaged 4.1 million viewers over 24 telecasts across ESPN, TNT and ABC, up 33% from the same 24 games during last year’s conference finals, which took place during the late summer/early fall of 2020 due to the pandemic, per a Sports Business Journal analysis.

The NBA Playoffs have helped propel TNT and ESPN to the top of the cable network ratings charts. Through June 20, TNT has averaged more primetime viewers during the last four weeks than any other cable network, topping perennial chart leader Fox News, while ESPN finished among the top five rated cable networks in primetime during those weeks. While the league’s playoff ratings are slightly down compared to 2019, the league was able to rebound nicely with viewers after struggling while in a COVID-avoiding bubble last year. 

Read also: Weekly Cable Ratings: TNT Tops Primetime; Fox News Rules in Total Day

It’s not just basketball that’s scoring on the ratings front. NBC Sports two weekends ago generated its second-most watched U.S. Open golf tournament in five years, while ESPN last week reported Sunday Night Baseball viewership is up 31% from last year’s full season average and up 7% compared to the same time period in 2019. 

Read also: TV By the Numbers: NBA, U.S. Open Soar in Watch-Time, TV Ad Impressions

“With sports coming back to a somewhat normal schedule, the excitement of the  crowd as well as the relief of people going back to their daily routines all contribute  to driving up sports ratings,” said sports analyst Lee Berke.

The live sports programming lineup will continue to heat up in July, with high profile events like the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup finals, the Copa America and UEFA Euro 2020 soccer tournaments and the Summer Olympics -- along with major pay-per-view events like the July 10 UFC 264 Conor McGregor-Dustin Poirier 3 event and the July 24 Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder 3 heavyweight boxing event.

Even as people return to their normal lives after the pandemic shutdown, Berke says viewers will continue to return home to watch must-see live sports events on the small screen.

“If they are going to be outside for a picnic or a party they know they can watch a movie or series later on demand,” he said. “But when it comes to watching a game seven or other big sports event, they’ll have to be in front of the TV set watching the game.” 

Legendary sportscaster Marv Albert will retire this summer after calling the 2021 NBA playoffs for TNT, Albert said Monday.

Albert, who has served as a radio and television sportscaster for more than a half-century, will retire at the conclusion of TNT's coverage of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. During his illustrious career Albert has called 25 NBA All-Star games, 13 NBA Finals, eight NHL Stanley Cup Finals, eight Super Bowls, and numerous boxing telecasts and baseball games.

“Marv’s legendary voice will forever be linked to many of the greatest moments in sports history,” WarnerMedia News and Sports chairman Jeff Zucker said in a statement. “He has entertained and informed generations of fans, and his broadcasting legacy will unquestionably stand the test of time."

TNT will pay tribute to Albert with a 30-minute special during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals next month. The network will also celebrate some of the most memorable calls from his broadcasting career throughout the NBA Playoffs. Albert has worked with TNT for more than 22 years, including 19 as an NBA play-by-play announcer, as well as an announcer for Turner Sports and CBS's NCAA March Madness men’s college basketball tournament.

In a 2015 video interview with Multichannel News, Albert discussed the appeal of offering every March Madness game live to fans on both digital and traditional television.

The delayed championship runs for the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball suffered a major body blow in the ratings, but industry observers say that viewership for those sports events should bounce back in 2021. 

Last month featured an unprecedented sports schedule in which the NBA Finals, hockey’s Stanley Cup Finals and baseball’s World Series all took place within three weeks in October. Pandemic-related delays caused the NHL and NBA to reschedule their playoffs from the spring to the fall, while baseball played three rounds of postseason games in a span of three weeks. 

While many observers predicted the games would generate strong appeal from sports-starved viewers, the championship runs for each sport suffered significant declines. The six-game World Series, pitting the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Tampa Bay Rays,  averaged 9.79 million viewers for Fox, down 30% from last year’s seven-game Washington Nationals-Houston Astros series (13.9 million) and finishing as the lowest-rated World Series ever, according to Sports Media Watch’s reporting of Nielsen ratings. 

The NBA Finals, where the Los Angeles Lakers bested the Miami heat in six games, also set a record low. ABC’s coverage averaged 7.49 million viewers, down 49% from last year’s Golden State Warriors-Toronto Raptors final in June 2019, according to Sports Media Watch. The six-game NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars averaged 2.15 million viewers for NBC, down 60% from the June 2019 St. Louis Blues-Boston Bruins finals.

The unprecedented glut of pro content in such a short time span hurt viewership, sports analyst Lee Berke said. “We’ve never had a year where the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals and the World Series — along with Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football — are playing up against each other,” he said. “Under those circumstances there has to be some cannibalization of viewers.”

Media consultant Bill Carroll said other factors, such as the election and fears surrounding COVID-19, pushed potential sports viewers toward news programming. Indeed, networks such as Fox News Channel set audience records during October with continuing coverage of the election as well as pandemic-related developments. 

“Unfortunately, I think folks got used to not having sports, and more people focused on their health and the election — those sorts of things overshadow even live championship sports programming,” Carroll said. “That gets reflected in the ratings.” 

Content Still Valuable

Despite the low numbers, Berke is not worried about the future of live sports programming. He pointed to the positive trends regarding the business of TV sports content, including baseball’s recent extension with Turner Sports and the NFL’s recent deal with Amazon Prime Video to stream a playoff game in 2021, as evidence that live sports content is still a valuable commodity for cable, broadcast and streaming services. 

“Overall, sports viewership has gone up in terms of the amount of hours people are watching sports, along with the digital consumption of sports content which went up substantially (in October),” Berke said. “Once everything gets back in a pattern, I’m not foreseeing much of an issue. I don’t think anyone wants a repeat of this year with all of those big sports events going against each other.”

Viewers should return to their normal sports viewing patterns once league championships again take place during their usual timnes, Carroll said. 

“I think if and when we get back to some sense of normalcy next spring or summer, that may help turn things around,” he said. “If we’re still in relatively the same circumstance as we are right now, I think that will negatively impact what happens with any event.” 

ABC won the Wednesday ratings derby thanks to the NBA finals. L.A. Lakers-Miami Heat paced ABC to a 1.8 in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and a 10 share. Fox, with The Masked Singer, was runner-up at 1.4/8. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live! got a 1.1 and NBA Countdown a 1.0 on ABC. Game one of the finals got a 2.1. 

Game one in 2019, Golden State Warriors versus Toronto Raptors, did a 3.9. The 2018 opener, Warriors versus Cavaliers, did a 5.1. 

The Masked Singer shot up 21% from its premiere for a 1.7 on Fox. I Can See Your Voice got a flat 1.1. 

CBS was next at 0.6/4. Big Brother got a 1.0 and the Love Island finale a 0.5. 48 Hours Suspicion scored a 0.3. All three shows lost a tenth of a point. 

NBC and Univision both rated a 0.4/2. NBC had reruns of Ellen’s Game of Games and Weakest Link. 

Univision had Dulce Ambicion up 33% to 0.4, Futbol Central at 0.3 and Seleccion Mexicana Partido Amistoso at 0.4. 

Telemundo got a 0.3/2. Exatlon Estados Unidos got a 0.3, Todo Por Mi Hija a 0.3 and Falsa Identidad a 0.2. All three were flat. 

The CW rated a 0.1/1. The season finale of The 100 went up a tenth to 0.2 and a repeat of Penn & Teller: Fool Us followed. 

The National Football League kicks off its 2020 season tonight (Sept. 10) with NBC’s live coverage of Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs game, adding to what is emerging as a cornucopia of live sports content for fans to watch on broadcast and cable networks during the fourth quarter as the entertainment industry continues to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The next few months will be an exhilarating and exhausting period for sports fans and network sports producers as the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup finals, baseball’s playoffs and World Series, The PGA Masters Tournament, the Preakness Stakes -- the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown races -- and live NFL and college football regular season games are all scheduled to hit the field. That doesn't include the numerous live boxing, mixed martial arts, tennis and other pro sports events that are also set for action through the end of the year. 

With the launch of the traditional fall broadcast television season mostly on hold due to the pandemic-delayed production of scripted series, networks will lean on those live sports events to help fill the original programming void in primetime.

Just this past Sunday, three of the four major broadcast networks featured live sports programming in a primetime block usually reserved for new, original entertainment content. ABC aired the Houston Rockets-Los Angeles Lakers NBA Western Conference Semifinal game; NBC offered the first game of the Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights NHL Western Conference Finals and Fox stepped into the boxing ring for a live fight card. Ratings have at least been solid and in some cases show there was pent-up demand: NBA games in primetime after the July restart were 80% ahead of the viewing before the March shutdown, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Usually everybody in the sports business works hard not to have major sports events bump into one another,” said sports analyst Lee Berke. “It’s going to be less so this year because of the pandemic. At the same time you’re going to have primetime nights of the week that are going to be bereft of original programming if not for sports.” 

The sports schedule is getting so packed for NBC that it will move a Sept. 19 Notre Dame-South Florida primetime telecast to sister cable service USA Network so it can televise a live NHL Stanley Cup playoff game.

Berke says while the glut of sports programming could dampen ratings for some live sports events, he believes there is a huge audience of sports fans willing to watch the games, particularly events that feature familiar and popular players and teams. 

“I think there is a big enough audience for all of it,” he said. “Some events will suffer, particularly if the events don’t have stars in place, but the flip side is the cupboard is bare on the entertainment side. You’ll have a much broader audience that will tune into live sports for the foreseeable future.”

Fox Sports’ weekend coverage of the U.S. Open golf championship and the FIFA Women’s World Cup capped an impressive five-day run of strong viewership performances for marquee sports telecasts.

Fox broadcasting continued to set soccer telecast milestones with its Sunday afternoon coverage of the US women’s soccer team’s 3-0 win over Chile. The network drew 5.3 million viewers for the game, making it the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in the country since the 2018 FIFA Men's World Cup final in Russia, according to Nielsen.

The telecast was also most-watched, FIFA Women’s World Cup Group Stage match ever in the U.S., according to Fox Sports.

Later that evening, the network moved to the greens for its final round coverage of the US Open golf championship. The network’s primetime coverage of the championship from Pebble Beach, California -- in which Gary Woodland (pictured) took home the prized trophy -- delivered 7.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Overall, 31.7 million viewers watched all or part of the tournament, making it Fox Sports’ most watched U.S. Open ever.

Fox Sports kicked off its U.S. Open coverage this past Thursday (June 13) with FS1 focusing cameras on the play from two groups of golfers -- including Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka -- while Fox Sports handled main coverage duties for the championship. The telecasts drew a combined 3.4 million viewers -- the best first round coverage on a broadcast network since 2002, according to Fox Sports.

RELATED: Fox Takes Swing At Alternative Feed During U.S. Open Golf Event

Also on June 13, ABC concluded its coverage of the Golden State Warriors-Toronto Raptors NBA Finals by drawing more than 18 million viewers to the sixth and final game of the series, won by the Raptors. While ABC’s ratings were hampered by having the Canadian-based Raptors -- the Toronto market is not rated by Nielsen -- in the finals, the network’s game telecasts on the nights aired were the most-watched shows on television, according to Nielsen.

The NBA Finals ended a day after the NHL Stanley Cup finals finished a thrilling Game 7 between the now champion St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins by averaging 8.7 million viewers on NBC -- the most watched Nielsen-rated NHL telecast, which dates back to 1994, according to Nielsen.

The high cost of sports programming and the value proposition of sports networks will always be a subject for debate within the industry, but what is indisputable is the ability of marquee sports events to still draw big audiences and, more often than not, score more viewers up against any other content on traditional television.

Viewers last night continued their social media fixation surrounding the Golden State Warriors/Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals. 

Last night’s contest, in which the Warriors defeated the Cavs to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, drew 14.6 million twitter and Facebook feeds from 4.8 million unique social media accounts – easily the most social television show on Wednesday, according to Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings Daily report

All three NBA Finals games have each drawn more than 10 million social media interactions, according to Nielsen.

CMT’s 2017 CMT Music Awards telecast was the most watched entertainment show for the day, generating 758,000 social media interactions from 511,000 unique accounts, said Nielsen.

ABC's Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals telecast last night scored big on social media, drawing more than 11 million interactions, according to Nielsen.

ABC's live game telecast, in which the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers to take the first game of the NBA Finals, generated 11.2 million Facebook and Twitter interactions from 4.5 million unique accounts, easily besting all sports and entertainment shows for the day, according to Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings list.  

ESPN’s coverage of the 90th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee was the most discussed entertainment show on Thursday, generating 172,000 social media interactions across 120,000 unique accounts. Two cable new shows, Fox News’ Hannity and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, were second and third on the daily TV social media list, respectively, according to Nielsen.

ABC’s NBA Finals Game 7 telecast last night drew more than 30 million viewers, making it the most watched NBA Finals came in 18 years, according to ABC.

The game, in which LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors to win its first NBA title and the city’s first championship since 1964, drew 30.7 million viewers, besting Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, according to ESPN.

 ABC’s Game 7 viewership peaked with 44.5 million viewers and a 22.5 U.S. rating from 10:30-10:40 p.m. (ET), according to Nielsen.

Overall, the series averaged 20,1 million viewers and an 11.3 U.S. rating for its seven games. The back-to-back Cavaliers-Warriors NBA Finals in 2015 and 2016 are the two-most-watched and highest-ratedNBA Finals ever on ABC, according to ESPN.

The game also drew a whopping 7.4 million Tweets from 1.7 million unique Twitter users, according to Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings. The game also generated 96.2 million total minutes streamed and an average minute audience of 598,000 viewers, which is the most for a non-World Cup event ever on WatchESPN, according to the network.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ big win over the Golden State Warriors in Game Six of the NBA Finals was all the talk on Twitter yesterday, driving more than 3 million tweets according to Nielsen.

ABC’s telecast of the game, in which Cleveland forced a seventh and deciding game for the championship on Sunday, averaged 3.09 million tweets from 889,000 unique Twitter authors to easily top all live sports and entertainment series for June 16, according to Nielsen Twitter TV ratings.

On the ratings front, ABC’s NBA Finals Game 6 averaged a 6.3 among adults 18-49 viewers, up from a 6.0 generated for Game 5, according to Nielsen.

FS1’s coverage of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament was a distant second with 261,000 Tweets, said Nielsen.

On the entertainment side, USA Network’s WWE SmackDown! Series was the most tweeted show on television yesterday with 39,000 tweets, followed by Comedy Central’s At Midnight With Chris Hardwick with 21,000 tweets, the season four finale of BBC America’s Orphan Black (19,000 tweets), Fox News Channel’s Hannity (8,000) and CW’s Beauty and The Beast (7 million).

With Game Six of the NBA Championship Finals looming, broadcaster Tribune Media said it is getting the silent treatment from Dish Network, concerning their days-old retransmission consent dispute.

About 42 stations in 33 markets went dark to Dish customers at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Dish has said that Tribune is trying to force an exorbitant rate increase coupled with full carriage of its WGN America cable network as terms for a deal. Tribune argues that it is merely asking for fair compensation for its content.

As the battle rages on, Tribune said in a statement Tuesday that it had submitted a proposal to Dish at 11:50 p.m. on Sunday and has yet to hear a response from the satellite TV service provider. Tribune did not reveal the terms of that offer.

 “It has been more than 48 hours and we’ve had zero response to it, and as a result of Dish’s unresponsiveness, their subscribers suffer the consequences—missing important local news and entertainment programming as well as one-of-a-kind live sporting events like the NBA Finals and The U.S. Golf tournament,” said Tribune Media senior vice president of corporate relations, Gary Weitman, said in a statement. “We stand ready to negotiate, but we can’t do so alone.”

In the meantime, Tribune said “tens of thousands” of Dish customers will not see Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs meet the Washington Nationals this afternoon on WGN-TV. Thursday night’s NBA Finals Game 6 could also be a washout for some Dish subscribers if a deal isn’t reached. Tribune estimated about 1.5 million Dish subscribers in its Fox-affiliated markets could miss this this weekend’s U.S. Open golf tournament as well.

Dish said it proposed a brief extension with a true-up provision while it continued negotiations that was rejected by Tribune.

“Dish offered to extend the contract so that consumers would have continued access to the Tribune channels while negotiations continued,” Dish said in a statement. “Tribune rejected our offer.  Only Tribune can cause a channel blackout.  Rather than continuing to negotiate in good faith, Tribune chose to remove their channels from Dish. We have yet to receive a reasonable response to our last offer. Rather than negotiate in the Press we suggest that Tribune respond to our last offer with a meaningful and fair offer for our customers.”

Timed with the start of tonight’s game one NBA Finals matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, Sling TV is offering a free preview of its Broadcast Extra add-on package to single-stream service subs in select markets.

The free preview of Broadcast Extra (a recently launched add-on that typically runs $5 per month and features ABC, Univision and UniMás) is limited to Sling TV single-stream subs in Chicago; Fresno-Visalia; Houston; Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia; Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco.

New customers who sign up for Sling TV’s seven-day free trial in those markets will automatically get the Broadcast Extra free preview, which will be offered for the duration of the NBA Finals.

Sling TV single-stream customers residing outside of the eligible Broadcast Extra markets can still watch the NBA Finals via the WatchESPN app (tonight’s game is also being streamed on ESPN3) using their Sling TV credentials. 

ABC’s coverage of the Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers 2015 NBA Finals was the highest-rated ever for the network.

The series, in which the Warriors defeated LeBron James and the undermanned Cavaliers 4 games to 2, averaged a 13.9 overnight rating, up 31% from the 10.6 generated by last year’s Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs matchup.

Last night’s game six telecast drew a 15.9 overnight rating, making it the highest-rated Game 6 ever on ABC, which has been telecasting the NBA Finals since the 2002-03 season, according to network officials.

Last night’s game also drew 939,000 unique viewers to Watch ESPN, the most ever for an NBA game on the platform. In addition, Game 6 drew an average minute audience of 292,000 viewers, which also ranks as the most-watched NBA game ever on the platform.

The NBA Finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals jumped out to strong ratings starts in their respective best of seven series.

Thursday’s game one telecast of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors NBA Finals drew 17.7 million viewers, a record for a Game 1 telecast on ABC, said Nielsen.

The game, in which Golden State won in an overtime thriller, was up 21% from 14.6 million for last year’s San Antonio-Miami game, according to Nielsen.

Game 2 of Cavaliers-Warriors airs Sunday on ABC.

Online, NBA Finals Game 1 on ESPN3 delivered a record 677,669 unique viewers, which is up 117% from Game 1 in 2014.

NBC’s game 1 Chicago Blackhawks-Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday averaged 5.5 million viewers, the most watched game 1 telecast ever for NBC and the most watched, non-overtime game 1 telecast in 18 years, according to Nielsen.

The game, won by the Blackhawks, was up 16% compared to last year’s New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings game 1 telecast.

The Blackhawks and Lightning will hit the ice for game 2 Saturday night on NBC.

Things overheated for LeBron James as ABC’s telecast of Game 1 of the NBA Finals rematch between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat surpassed last year’s opener.

The June 5 telecast of the Spurs' 110-95 win over the Heat on June 5 averaged 14.85 million watchers, up 4% from the first game of the 2013 championship series that was also taken by San Antonio.

Thursday night’s game will always be remembered for the malfunctioning air-conditioning system in AT&T Center that pushed on-court temperatures into the low 90s. James missed much of the fourth quarter with severe cramping as San Antonio ended the contest on a 31-9 run.

It will be interesting to see if LeBron's laboring will draw viewers to ABC for Game 2 on Sunday night at 8 p.m.  Last year' Finals series didn't take off with the Nielsens until Game 6 and Game 7.

Are pro basketball fans ready for the Heat-Spurs rematch, for the third Finals meeting between The King and Old Man Riverwalk? Adam Silver and John Skipper certainly hope so.

Arguments can be made on either side of your beverage of choice. What supporters don’t want to witness LeBron James’s continued ascent to the higher reaches of the roundball pantheon?  Or has the antipathy among LeBron loathers waned in light of his two rings and the prospects of him leading Papa Riles to a presidential Heat threepeat? Surely, there has to be some concession to LBJ's greatness -- no matter how begrudging.

As to those who favor San Antonio’s fluid ball movement and team-first approach, isn’t it time that wrongs were righted, that the missed free throws and rebounds not gathered in the final 28 seconds in Game 6 of the 2013 championship series, are Finally put aside? Or do far too many still refuse to value Tim Duncan’s all-time fundamentals, Tony Parker’s joie de jeu, or Manu Ginobli’s arsenal of international styles?

Through the first five games a year ago, the NBA Finals was on course toward four-year lows in ratings and viewership, scoring at 9.1 rating and 15.1 million audience clips.

But that was before the exultation of the Heat and despair of the Spurs came across our screens in Game 6 and Game 7, which tallied a 12.3 rating and 20.6 million viewers and a 15.3 mark and 26.3 million watchers, respectively.  The latter was the second-most-watched telecast – behind the 28.2 million for the Lakers' Game 7 win over the Celtics in 2010 – since ABC reacquired rights to the pro hoops circuit in 2003.

As such, the 2013 NBA Finals ticked ahead to an average of a 10.5 rating and 17.7 million watchers, up 4% and 5% from the 10.1 and 16.9 million for the Heat’s five-game stomp of OKC in 2012.

It was the reentered ABC’s third best behind the 10.6 and 18.1 million averages for LA-Boston in 2010 and the 11.5 and 17.9 million for Detroit’s five-game upset of Kobe, Shaq and Phil in 2004.

Let’s see if things, er, heat up from the get-go, or will it again take some last-second heroics to spur viewership this time round.