Just weeks after losing its long-held national TV rights to the NBA, Turner made several key announcements this week signaling its intention to stay relevant in the live televised sports business.

First, the Warner Bros. Discovery unit locked up a key on-air talent, announcing that NBA Hall of Fame basketball star Charles Barkley will stay on Turner’s TNT network, even after his long-running studio show, Inside the NBA, seems destined to depart with the league after the upcoming 2024-25 season.

At the same time, Turner’s truTV announced the five week “Banana Ball World Tour” in partnership with the  Savannah Bananas, a Harlem Globetrotters-like exhibition baseball team and social media sensation with almost nine million followers on TikTok.

Under the agreement, the network will broadcast five consecutive live Friday night Savanna Bananas "games," played between the weeks of August 16 - September 13.

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

This all comes after the NBA chose to leave TNT following next season in favor of new national TV deals with NBCUniversal and Amazon, as well as its renewed rights agreement with Disney/ESPN. (Warner Bros. Discovery has sued the NBA for breach of contract, claiming it indeed matched Amazon’s $1.7 billion-a-season offer and should have retained TV rights.)

Analysts predict that the loss of the NBA could cost TNT as much as $600 million in annual profit.

Now, it looks like the network is attempting to cobble together its sports programming through myriad alternative live-sports sources.

In May, for example, Turner agreed to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from Disney/ESPN, entering the collegiate gridiron business for the first time. 

That was followed by a June decision by Turner to license U.S. TV rights to pro tennis’ French Open. 

The Savannah Bananas, whose entertainment style revolves around dancing players, flaming baseball bats and a "fans first" motto, have the impressive record of selling out every home game they’ve played since 2017

The team has yet to share revenue figures from 2024, but as of 2023 it had made more than $10 million in annual sales.

As for Barkley and Inside the NBA, Sports Illustrated reported that  WBD may transition its show, led by Barkley, into a multi-sport variety program, in which the hosts discuss other leagues that TNT owns the rights to.

“My deal is 10 years, $210 million,” Barkley previously told The Athletic. “Turner has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing, or they can offer me a pay cut,which there is no chance of that happening and I’ll be (a) free agent.”

It now appears that the network has renewed its commitment to Barkley, and will continue to feature him in future sports programming.

“I love my TNT Sports family,” said Barkley in a statement. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future.”

Live sports programming continues to deliver huge ratings for TNT and ESPN as both networks dominated last week’s primetime cable ratings chart.

TNT averaged 3.2 million viewers for the week of May 13-19 to top all cable networks for the fourth straight week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The network was bolstered by its May 19 coverage of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Denver Nuggets Game 7 NBA Western Conference semifinals telecast, which averaged 7.5 million viewers.

NBA and NHL playoffs-fueled ESPN finished second for the week with 2.2 million viewers, followed by Fox News' 1.9 million viewers and MSNBC’s 1.1 million watchers.

HGTV pulled into fifth place with 647,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (637,000 viewers), INSP (606,000), TBS (525,000), USA Network (522,000) and History (512,000).

Fox News posted its 19th straight win on the total day chart with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (831,000), TNT (797,000), ESPN (771,000) and CNN (471,000), according to Nielsen. 

NBA and NHL post-season coverage leads the list of live TV sports events airing on cable and linear channels this weekend. 

ABC on Saturday will televise game three of the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers series, with teams splitting the first two games. ABC will also air Game 3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Dallas Mavericks series, which is tied at one game each.

On Sunday afternoon, ABC will air Game 4 of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers, with the Knicks up two games to none heading into Friday night’s action. TNT will air Game 4 of Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves, with the defending champion Nuggets down two games to none going into Friday night’s game.

On the ice, TNT on Saturday will air a pair of Game 4 matchups between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. TBS on Sunday will feature Game 4 telecasts from both the Florida Panthers-Boston Bruins series as well as the Edmonton Oilers-Vancouver Canucks series. 

On the baseball diamond, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature National League East rivals the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

On the links, CBS will air weekend coverage of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament, while on the racetrack NBC on Saturday will televise the Sonsio Grand Prix IndyCar race. 

Fox News Channel’s coverage of the South Carolina Primary helped the news network complete a sweep of the primetime and total day charts for the month of February.

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of February 19-25 for its sixth straight win, topping second place TNT, which averaged 1.6 million viewers for the week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. 

Fox News was paced by its February 24 South Carolina Primary coverage, along with its February 20 Town Hall event featuring Laura Ingraham and former President Trump, which averaged 3.3 million viewers.  

MSNBC finished third for the week with 1.4 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 861,000 viewers, and HGTV, which pulled in 791,000 viewers. 

TBS was sixth with 735,000 viewers, followed by History (718,000 viewers), CNN (677,000), Hallmark Channel (613,000) and INSP (611,000).

Fox News held on to first place on the total day chart with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (949,000 viewers), CNN (549,000), ESPN (460,000) and TNT (434,000), said Nielsen. 

Fox News was the most-watched cable network in primetime and total day for the first full week of February as it continues to pile up ratings victories in 2024. 

The cable news network averaged 2 million viewers for the week of February 5-11 for its fourth straight win on the chart, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. MSNBC was a distant second with 1.3 million viewers, followed by HGTV’s 749,000 viewers, History’s 731,000 viewers, and ESPN’s 670,000 watchers.

TBS finished sixth with 645,000 viewers, followed by INSP (626,000), TNT (596,000), Hallmark Channel (571,000) and USA Network (569,000). 

On a total day basis, Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers for the week, blowing away competition from MSNBC (846,000 viewers), CNN (462,000), ESPN (455,000), and HGTV (433,000), reported Nielsen. 

Fox News continued its strong 2023 ratings run, finishing at the top of both the primetime and total day charts for third straight week.

Fox News averaged 2 million viewers in primetime for the week of January 29 to February 4, besting MSNBC’s 1.2 million viewers and ESPN’s 1 million watchers, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox News. The cable news network has won the primetime crown in three of the first five weeks of 2024.

HGTV finished fourth with 853,000 viewers followed by History with 765,000. TBS was sixth with 754,000, followed by Hallmark Channel (681,000), Discovery Channel (642,000), USA Network (622,000) and INSP (617,000).

On a total day basis, Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (794,000 viewers), ESPN (547,000), HGTV (445,000) and CNN (434,000), said Nielsen. 

Puppy Bowl celebrates 20 years on the air Sunday, February 11. Simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, truTV, Max and Discovery Plus, the three-hour Puppy Bowl XX telecast, featuring 131 puppies, begins at 2 p.m. ET. 

As the Chiefs and 49ers battle for the Lombardi Trophy on CBS, Puppy Bowl sees Team Ruff and Team Fluff battle for the Lombarky Trophy. 

The largest of the 131 is the Great Dane Levi, at 72 pounds, and the smallest is Sweetpea, who weighs in at 1.7 pounds. 

The Super Bowl kicks off on CBS at 6:30 p.m.

A longtime Animal Planet special, Puppy Bowl was simulcast across the various Warner Bros. Discovery networks for the first time last year. 

Also Read: Why Wait for Kickoff? See Some Hot Super Bowl Commercials Here

“For the 20th anniversary of Puppy Bowl, we made this beloved pop culture event bigger and better than ever,” said Karen Bronzo, chief marketing officer, U.S. Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery. “In addition to working with a group of amazing brands and extending our reach, a big goal for our team was to drive more impact for pet adoption than ever before. Each one of our partnerships gives our fans fun ways to join the Puppy Bowl celebration but also drives awareness for shelters across the country.”

Partners include Best Friends Animal Society, Funny Face Bakery, National Football League Players Association, Wag!, Bark Social, Grounds and Hounds, Pooch Perks, Southwest Airlines and Valpak. 

Puppy Bowl XX is produced for Animal Planet by Bright Spot Content

Also Read: YouTube Unveils High-Profile Ad Formats Ahead of Super Bowl

Following Puppy Bowl XX, Stupid Pet Tricks debuts on TBS, Discovery, truTV and Animal Planet at 5 p.m. ET February 11. Sarah Silverman hosts the show, an extension of the segments that used to appear on Late Show With David Letterman. 

Letterman appears in the pilot episode, sitting with Silverman as she takes the SPT torch. Then viewers see a goat who does yoga, a life-saving dog, and what TBS calls “the biggest pet we’ve ever seen.”

New episodes air on TBS Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning February 12. 

All Elite Wrestling enters 2024 with ratings and business momentum as it gears up for talks on a new TV carriage agreement.

AEW, which launched in 2019, drew 15.6 million viewers in 2023 across its three weekly television shows on Warner Bros Discovery’s TBS and TNT — AEW Dynamite, which airs Wednesdays on TBS, and Rampage and Collision, airing Fridays and Saturdays, respectively, on TNT. 

With strong 2023 returns on its pay-per-view events as well as record-breaking international live gate performances, the company — led by its CEO, general manager and head of creative Tony Khan — is in position to successfully compete in a crowded pro wrestling ring led by category leader WWE.

Khan, who outside the ring serves as chief football strategy officer of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and as general manager and sporting director of soccer’s Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League, recently spoke to Multichannel News about AEW’s plans going into the new year.   

MCN: Has the AEW brand met your expectations since its launch in 2019? 

Tony Khan: It’s been an incredible first four-plus years for AEW. As we approach year five, we’ve accomplished so much in the world of pro wrestling and there’s still so much we can still do. We’ve expanded from two hours of weekly television to five hours; from one weekly program on Wednesdays to three weekly programs on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We’ve gone from being on TNT to being on both TBS and TNT every week, 52 weeks a year. We’ve expanded internationally toward Canada and did one of the biggest live gates in the history of Canada with [pay-per-view event] Forbidden Door. One of the biggest accomplishments ever in wrestling was our AEW All In event held at Wembley Stadium last summer where we sold more than 81,000 tickets. It’s the most tickets ever sold for any wrestling show in history on record and it was also a huge success on pay-per-view. So there is a lot of really awesome stuff happening and for us, it’s an exciting time. We’re approaching our media rights renewal window and that’s a massive opportunity for us for all the growth we’ve had since our launch. 

MCN: As you approach media rights negotiations, is AEW considering expanding into the streaming arena somewhere down the line?

TK: We have a great library of content as we explore future distribution opportunities. Along with AEW content, I acquired Ring of Honor, which features thousands of hours of footage and trademarks. Given our library, we have an amazing opportunity to launch on a streaming platform.

MCN: What has made the AEW brand so popular for both audiences and potential distributors? 

TK: We have a lot of the best wrestlers in the world in AEW, and we have a great, knowledgeable fan base that is very passionate about wrestling. There has been a great base for AEW on Wednesday night since our launch and we’ve been able to expand it into Fridays and Saturdays. Our pay-per-view business has grown over the years significantly, and the loyalty of our pay-per-view customers and the strength of that business is, in my opinion, a testament to the great connection we have with the AEW wrestling fans who are so engaged with our brand each week. 

MCN: When you initially launched, the clear leader in the pro wrestling ring was the WWE. Four years later, how does the AEW brand match up with WWE? 

TK: I think it’s a great time for wrestling because over the last several years, both companies have grown. AEW is a challenger brand [to the WWE], and it’s an exciting time for wrestling. When we got into the industry, I believe it was unquestionably a monopoly. I’m working very hard to grow and sustain AEW as a challenger brand, and it’s been a lot of fun putting on great wrestling every week. I think the arrival and debut of AEW has helped create a market around wrestling that has helped both of the major domestic wrestling promotions. For us at AEW, we’re really happy that we've been able to grow our business and expand our pay-per-view calendar and have such great results.

MCN:  Along with wrestling, you also have business interests in the NFL and soccer. Do you have a preference for a particular sport?

TK: I love all the stuff I’m doing, but they’re different. They have great qualities and strength. I love working in wrestling; but I also love being a part of the Premier League with Fulham F.C. and the work we’ve done to get the team to where it is today. I love being a part of the NFL with the Jaguars and the great fans in Jacksonville and the turnaround the team has had over the last couple of years and being a part of it. It’s all so fun for me and they’re all very different. 

Sarah Silverman hosts Stupid Pet Tricks, which has a sneak peek on TBS, Discovery, TruTV and Animal Planet Sunday, February 11 at 5 p.m. ET, before officially premiering the following day on TBS. The half-hour show is what TBS calls “a reimagining of the iconic David Letterman segment.”

Letterman is an executive producer.

Guest stars, besides the pets, include Jon Hamm, Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Howie Mandel, Jack McBrayer, Charlotte McKinney and Letterman himself. 

The Stupid Pet Tricks Tour starts February 3 and visits breweries around the nation. The shows are free and pets can audition for the TBS program.

The Stupid Pet Tricks Tour stops at Cigar City Brewing in Tampa February 3, then Deep Ellum Brewing in Dallas February 7, Meanwhile Brewery in Austin February 10, Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, Colorado February 13, and another Oskar Blues in Brevard, North Carolina February 17.

Stupid Pet Tricks is executive produced by Jay Blumenfield and Tony Marsh of The Jay & Tony Show with Worldwide Pants, Incorporated. David Letterman, Sarah Silverman and Amy Zvi are executive producers. Merrill Markoe, who created the segment originally, is a consulting producer.

TBS will bring back its Friday Night Vibes movie programming block on January 5 with new hosts Nina Parker and Kevin Fredericks.

Friday Night Vibes, which originally launched in 2021 with hosts Tiffany Haddish and Deon Cole, celebrates popular films with diverse voices in front and behind the camera, said TBS. The monthly Friday Night Vibes episodes will debut with the films Black Panther and King Richard, with Parker and Fredericks hosting segments around the films featuring special guests and discussions about the movies, according to the network. 

Future Friday Night Vibes episodes will feature such films as 21 Bridges, Creed 2, Tenet, White House Down, Angel Has Fallen, Girls Trip and Ride Along 2.

“One of the best parts about the movie-watching experience is to get with your friends to talk about your favorite actors, the best lines, the biggest action scenes and more,” Turner Networks president Jason Sarlanis said in a statement.  “With Friday Night Vibes, we’re creating that experience with the brilliant and hilarious Nina Parker and Kevin Fredericks whose wealth of pop culture and film knowledge, mixed with their amazing charisma and humor, will create a fun and lively watch-along experience for film fans every month.”

 Major League Baseball’s League Championship Series proved to be a major hit for TBS and FS1 as both networks finished at the top of last week’s primetime charts.

TBS averaged 2.9 million viewers for the week of October 16 to October 22 to top all cable networks, followed by FS1, which averaged 2.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox News. 

Both networks were bolstered by their respective coverage of baseball's playoffs games. TBS was led by its October 20 coverage of the Philadelphia Phillies-Arizona Diamondbacks National League Championship series, which drew 5.39 million viewers, while FS1’s October 22 Texas Rangers-Houston Astros American League Championship telecast drew 4.76 million viewers.

Also: MLB Hopes Diamondbacks-Phillies Game 7 Will Spark World Series Ratings Rally

Fox News finished third with 2 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 1.8 million viewers and MSNBC with 1.2 million watchers. Hallmark Channel was sixth with 917,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (814,000 viewers), CNN (687,000), INSP (601,000) and TLC (565,000). 

Fox News finished first on the total day chart for the fifth straight week, followed by MSNBC (918,000 viewers), TBS (732,000), ESPN (666,000) and CNN (631,000).

Major League Baseball hopes to build ratings momentum going into the World Series with a strong performance from TBS’s telecast of the deciding Game 7 of the National League Championship Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies.

With both the Diamondbacks-Phillies series and the American League Championship series between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros having gone to a deciding Game 7, baseball hopes to salvage a lackluster ratings performance so far in the playoffs. 

Fox and FS1's October 23 Rangers-Astros Game 7 telecast averaged 6.77 million viewers, topping only the 2020 Astros-Tampa Bay Rays Game 7 as the least-watched LCS Game 7 on record, according to SportsMedia Watch. Overall, the series averaged 5 million viewers, down from last year's four-game Astros-Yankees series on TBS, but the most watched LCS on Fox and FS1 since 2019's Astros-Yankees series, according to Nielsen numbers provided by Fox Sports. 

Fox’s October 15 Rangers-Astros Game 1 was the most-watched game of the series with 7.05 million viewers. 

TBS's October 23 Diamondbacks-Phillies Game 6 afternoon telecast averaged 4.6 million viewers, according to SportsMedia Watch. With tonight's Game 7 still to be played, TBS’s October 20 Phillies-Diamondbacks Game 4 is currently the most-watched game of the series with 5.39 million viewers, according to SportsMedia Watch.

Total viewing for the opening Wild Card rounds across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 were down 18%, according to Nielsen data, with the four two-game sweeps averaging 2.25 million viewers vs. 2.73 million last season. 

The Division Series round on Fox/FS1 and TBS — where none of the four series went to a fifth and deciding game — averaged 3.13 million viewers, down 8% from last year (3.40 million), according to Nielsen.

Major League Baseball enjoyed a resurgent regular season, with overall linear TV viewership up 26% through the first three months of the 2023 campaign and full-season ballpark attendance enjoying its biggest year-over-year spike ever (9.6%) to over 70.7 million ticket buyers. 

Meanwhile, the league also said that MLB.TV enjoyed its most streamed season in its 21-year history, with engagement increasing 9% to 12.7 billion viewing minutes and the number of users up 14%. 

But this resurgence, fueled by the new “pitch-clock” rules, baseball experts speculate, has not carried into the post-season, which this year returned a relatively new format that started last season. 

Total viewing across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 for last week's MLB "wild card round" was down 18%, according to Nielsen data, with four two-game sweeps averaging 2.25 million viewers vs. 2.73 million last season. 

Meanwhile, through Tuesday, the four MLB Division Series on TBS, truTV, Fox and FS1 are collectively down 15% in viewership, averaging 2.78 million viewers vs. 3.28 million for the comparable first 10 games of the 2022 divisional round, according to Nielsen data compiled by Sports Media Watch. 

Three of the four divisional-round series have already ended in three-game sweeps, with the only competitive matchup, the Philadelphia Phillies's defeat of the Atlanta Braves in four games, scoring the largest TV audience, 4.05 million viewers through Tuesday, up 19% over Turner's comparable audience in 2022. 

Sports media pundits don't expect the news to get any better for the upcoming American and National League championship series, not to mention the World Series.

The upcoming ALCS between the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers (Fox, FS1) seems confined to intense but limited regional appeal. Pundits don't seem too impressed by the audience potential of an NLCS (TBS) pitting the up-and-coming Arizona Diamondbacks against the Philadelphia Phillies, either. 

Meanwhile, the big-market draws like the New York Yankees, who didn't make the playoffs, and Los Angeles Dodgers, who meekly succumbed to the Diamondbacks Wednesday evening, are not in the forward-looking playoff picture. 

Notably, a very possible rematch of last year’s World Series (Fox), which saw the Astros defeat the Phillies in six games, would probably not be, er, boffo. The 2022 iteration averaged 12.03 million viewers across Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming, making it the second least-watched Fall Classic ever. 

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will offer an alternative live sports feed to its National League Championship Series postseason baseball coverage targeted to Hispanic viewers. 

The Postseason ALTcast: Peloteros feed debuts October 16 and will run on truTV and Max alongside the traditional game telecast airing on TBS and Max. The English-language offering, hosted by Alanna Rizzo, will feature a diverse panel of commentators representing former Hispanic/Latino Major League Baseball players, including Pedro Martinez, Albert Pujols, Yonder Alonso and Nestor Cortes. 

Also Read: ESPN, TNT Come Out Fast for Third NHL TV Campaign

The panel will break down the action from each NLCS game as it's happening while providing their unique perspectives and insights on Hispanic culture in baseball, said WBD Sports.

The Postseason ALTCast: Peloteros is the first of what could be several alternative feed offerings from Warner Bros. Discovery Sports streaming on Max’s new sports tier, according to WBD Sports chief content officer Craig Barry.

"Now that we have Max as an additional platform, it creates a lot more real estate and a lot more opportunity to create potential alternative feeds,” he said. “When you talk about alternative feeds, you’re trying to serve a fan’s need, and although we’re brainstorming and exploring at this point, we’re exploring all these things to see if we can build on an opportunity for a larger degree of fan engagement.” 

Baseball fans seeking coverage of the NLCS in Spanish can find it on MLB Network, with Fernando Álvarez handling play by play and Carlos Peña on color commentary. The NLCS will start October 20 with the Arizona Diamondbacks taking on the Philadelphia Phillies.  

NBC’s October 8 Sunday Night Football telecast was the most-watched sports event for the second week in a row, while Major League Baseball playoff telecasts topped non-football viewership.

NBC’s telecast of the San Francisco 49ers' blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys  averaged 24.28 million viewers for the week of October 2-8, according to Nielsen numbers published by SportsMedia Watch. Overall, NFL games secured the top five most-watched sports events for the week. 

ABC’s October 7 Oklahoma Sooners-Texas Longhorns telecast drew 7.30 million viewers to finish as the top-rated college football game. 

Baseball postseason game telecasts secured the top four slots for non-football audiences, led by TBS’s October 7 telecast of the Philadelphia Phillies-Atlanta Braves National League Divisional Series opening game. 

Modern Family, ABC's sitcom about a multigenerational family in Southern California, will premiere on TBS on Monday, September 25. 

In addition to Modern Family, TBS also will start airing longer daily marathons of The Big Bang Theory, which is cable’s top-rated acquired series, according to TBS’ owner, Warner Bros. Discovery.

“Our audience continually seeks out popular comedies like Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, so now that we have all three of these iconic series on TBS, we can build an even bigger, more engaged audience,” said Julie Taylor, chief of content strategy and insights, U.S. Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement. “We have the best in class content that drives an audience from daytime through primetime and we do that by leveraging our fans’ affinity for comedies and by creating daily destinations.”

The show, which was co-created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, was an enormous hit when it premiered on ABC in 2009. It sold in a preemptive syndication deal to Fox and USA Network and premiered on those platforms in 2013, but its ratings in syndication were never as strong as its broadcast network performance promised. The Fox Owned Stations’ contracts for the show end after this season and are unlikely to be renewed as Fox moves away from sitcoms.

Modern Family ended its run in April 2020 after its 11th season on ABC.

A five-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series, Modern Family stars Ed O’Neill as family patriarch Jay Pritchett, who is remarried to Gloria (Sofia Vergara), who has a son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez). Jay’s daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen) is married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), and they have three kids: Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould).  Jay’s son, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is married to Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), who have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons). 

Modern Family was produced by 20th Television in association with Steven Levitan Productions and Picador Productions. Besides Levitan and Lloyd, Paul Corrigan, Brad Walsh, Danny Zuker, Abraham Higginbotham, Jeffrey Richman, Elaine Ko, Stephen Lloyd, Vali Chandrasekaran, Jack Burditt, Jon Pollack and Jeff Morton also served as executive producers. The series is distributed by Disney Entertainment.

Fox News Channel’s new primetime programming lineup helped the network remain at the top of both the cable primetime and total day charts last week.

Fox News averaged 1.8 million viewers in primetime during the week of July 17 to July 23 to top all cable networks for the fourth consecutive week, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The network was led by the July 17 launch of its revamped 8 pm to 11 pm lineup, featuring shows  Jesse Watters Primetime, Hannity, and Gutfeld!. Adding in its 7 p.m. series The Ingraham Angle and its 11 p.m. show Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher, Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers for its 7 pm to 11 p.m. lineup, besting competing cable networks CNN and MSNBC in total viewers.

MSNBC finished second in primetime with 1.2 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 739,000 viewers, INSP with 711,000 viewers, and HGTV with 671,000 watchers.

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were History (660,000 viewers), TLC (631,000), USA Network (608,000), Discovery Channel (567,000), and TBS (553,000).

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News extended its winning streak to 29 weeks with an average of 1.1 million viewers. MSNBC was a distant second with 779,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (475,000), USA Network (441,000), and CNN (426,000). 

The live TV sports calendar for the first weekend in June starts on the ice as TNT drops the puck on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. 

TNT, along with TBS and truTV, will carry Game One of the Florida Panthers-Vegas Golden Knights NHL Stanley Cup series. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned networks will air every game of the NHL finals after ABC aired last year’s Colorado Avalanche-Tampa Bay Lightening Stanley Cup series.

Also: TNT Hopes Its First Stanley Cup Finals Will Maintain Hockey’s Ratings Momentum

The NBA Finals continue on ABC Sunday night as the Miami Heat look to even up its series with the Denver Nuggets after losing the first game on Thursday. 

On the baseball diamond, Peacock Sunday morning will stream the St. Louis Cardinals-Pittsburgh Pirates game, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature long-time interleague rivals the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Week eight of the USFL Football league begins Saturday with coverage of the Houston Gamblers-Pittsburgh Maulers game on USA Network and the Philadelphia Stars-Birmingham Stallions on NBC. Sunday’s action includes Fox’s telecasts of the Memphis Showboats-New Jersey Generals and Michigan Panthers-New Orleans Breakers games. 

On the links, CBS and the Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the final rounds of PGA Memorial golf tournament, while on the tennis court NBC and Tennis Channel will offer live coverage of the French Open.

In the octagon, ESPN on Saturday will televise a UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event bout between flyweights Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi.  

TNT will bring pro wrestling to Saturday nights with the launch of AEW: Collision while TBS will add more comedy with a reimagining of the classic series The Joe Schmo Show, Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday during its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York .

The two-hour AEW: Collision live series will join Friday series AEW: Rampage on TNT’s lineup, featuring such AEW wrestlers as Miro, Samoa Joe, Thunder Rose, Powerhouse Hobbs and Andrade El Idolo, according to TNT. Two other weekly AEW series, AEW: Dynamite and reality-themed series AEW: All-Access currently air on TBS.

“We’re doubling down on wrestling with AEW: Collision which gives fans two more hours every week,” Turner Networks, ID and HLN linear and streaming president Jason Sarlanis said in a statement. “AEW’s roster of talent has expanded so quickly that we felt it needed another night to bring our audience the epic rivalries, unforgettable matches and stars they love to watch. Adding Collision to our programming mix on TNT will allow us to satisfy the massive demand we’ve felt from our hardcore fanbase and be the ultimate complement to AEW: Dynamite on TBS.”

In other WB Discovery programming news, TBS will look to amp up its comedy lineup with a new version of the former Spike TV series The Joe Schmo Show. 

The series, hosted by Cat Deeley, will debut in 2024 and follow the premise of the original series by making a regular guy believe that he’s competing on a reality show, but in reality all the participants are a cast of improv comedians, said the network. The series ran on Spike TV, now Paramount Network, for three seasons beginning in 2003. 

“When The Joe Schmo Show launched 20 years ago, it was ahead of its time,” Sarlanis said. “In rebooting this classic for a modern, savvy audience, it gives us the opportunity to comment on the often absurd and hilarious tropes of reality television in ways our viewers will love.”

The Joe Schmo Show will be produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and Fly on the Wall, with original series creators Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. 

The live TV sports lineup for a busy April weekend begins in the boxing ring as Showtime distributes a much-anticipated pay-per-view boxing event featuring undefeated lightweights Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. 

The Davis-Garcia fight is the second PPV boxing event for Davis this year and the fourth overall for the category so far in 2023. Davis-Garcia will be distributed by In Demand, PPV.com and DAZN PPV for a suggested retail price of $84.99. 

On the ice, the NHL winds down the first round of its postseason with a Saturday tripleheader of game three’s on TBS including the Vegas Golden Knights-Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs-Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche-Seattle Kraken contests. Also, ABC will air game three of the New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers matchup.

On Sunday, TBS will air game four coverage of the Dallas Stars-Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers-Los Angeles Kings series, while game four of the Carolina Hurricanes-New York Islanders and Boston Bruins-Florida Panthers matchups will air on TNT.

On the court, the first round of the NBA playoffs continue on Saturday afternoon with the Philadelphia 76’ers looking to close out the Brooklyn Nets in game four of their series on TNT, while the Phoenix Suns look to go up three games to one over the Los Angeles Clippers, also on TNT. ESPN will air a primetime doubleheader featuring two game three matchups – The Miami Heat-Milwaukee Bucks and the Memphis Grizzlies-Los Angeles Lakers. Both series are tied at one game apiece.  

On Sunday, ABC will air game four of the Cleveland Cavaliers-New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings-Golden State Warriors playoff series, while TNT will air game four of the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves series.

Peacock on Sunday will launch its 19-game MLB Sunday Leadoff live streaming baseball package with the Philadelphia Phillies-Colorado Rockies game. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will pit the New York Mets against the San Francisco Giants.  

Also on Sunday CBS will offer championship round coverage of the Professional Bull Riders' Great Northwest Invitational event, while Fox will televise the Pro Bowlers Association’s World Series of Bowling championship.

TBS’s coverage of March Madness, the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, helped the network defeat Fox News Channel in primetime last week, Nielsen reported.

TBS averaged 3.1 million viewers for the week of March 20-March 26, ending Fox News’s seven-week run as the most watched cable network in primetime. The cable news network finished second with 2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC and ESPN, which tied for fourth with 1.2 million viewers, reported Nielsen.

FS1, on the strength of the 5.2 million viewers that tuned into the USA-Japan World Baseball Classic tournament final, finished fifth with 1 million viewers, followed by HGTV (940,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (733,000), Food Network (679,000), INSP (678,000) and Discovery Channel (636,000).

On the total-day front, Fox News extended its winning streak to 11 weeks, averaging 1.3 million viewers. TBS finished a distant second with 872,000 viewers, filled by MSNBC (769,000), ESPN (539,000) and HGTV (482,000), according to Nielsen. ■ 

Fox News Channel withstood a challenge from March Madness-heavy TNT and TBS to remain at the top of the primetime and total-day charts last week, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 1.9 million viewers for the week of March 13-20 to garner its eighth-straight win in primetime, according to Nielsen. TNT finished a close second with 1.8 million viewers, followed by TBS’s 1.7 million viewers and truTV’s 1.1 million watchers. All three networks benefited from early round coverage of the March Madness NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.

MSNBC finished fifth for the week with 1.1 million viewers, followed by HGTV (935,000 viewers), INSP (742,000), FS1 (739,000), History (722,000) and ESPN (710,000).

Fox News topped the total day chart for the 10th straight week with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (695,000 viewers), TBS (655,000), TNT (607,000) HGTV (495,000), said Nielsen. ■ 

TBS will expand its pro wrestling content with a new docuseries from the All-Elite Wrestling wrestling outfit.

The series, AEW: All Access, debuts in March, and follows AEW action from the perspective of the AEW wrestlers, said the network. Each episode will showcase such AEW stars as Adam Cole, Dr. Britt Baker, Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti, The Young Bucks, Saraya, Wardlow, and Eddie Kingston as they navigate the week-to-week challenges to remain at the top, as well as track the rivalries between talent as they vie for fans’ attention, according to AEW. 

“AEW has such an amazingly loyal and dedicated fan base that brings in more than 4 million viewers to TBS every Wednesday night,” Turner Networks, ID, & HLN Linear and Streaming President Jason Sarlanis said in a statement. “With All Access, we are bringing that incredible audience a whole new way to experience the wrestling universe they love. With this new series we are expanding the franchise in a way that invites viewers inside the world of wrestling like never before.” 

The show adds to TBS’ lineup of AEW content that includes its weekly AEW: Dynamite series, which launched in January 2022. “We’re always looking for new ways to engage with fans and give them unique access to our incredible talent,” AEW Head of Creative Tony Kahn said. “With the new AEW: All Access series, they’ll have a chance to peek behind the curtain and into the lives of their favorite wrestlers like never before.”■

The lineup of live TV sports events taking place over the President’s Day weekend starts on the hardwood with TNT’s coverage of the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

On Saturday TNT will offer primetime coverage of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night events, including the skills, three-point and slam dunk contests. On Sunday night TNT and TBS will provide live coverage of the annual NBA All-Star Game, featuring the league's recently crowned all-time leading scorer LeBron James.  

On the race track, Fox will feature Sunday afternoon coverage of NASCAR’s Daytona 500 auto racing event. On the links, CBS and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Genesis Invitational golf tournament. 

The men’s college basketball lineup of top-ranked teams playing on Saturday includes top-ranked Alabama meeting Georgia on the SEC Network, fourth-ranked UCLA battling California on the Pac-12 Network and fifth-ranked Kansas taking on ninth-ranked Baylor on ESPN. On Sunday, second-ranked Houston plays Memphis on ESPN, while third-ranked Purdue meets Ohio State on CBS.

Several of the top women’s college basketball teams play on Sunday, including top-ranked South Carolina meeting Ole Miss on SEC Network, second-ranked Indiana battling Purdue on BTN, and fifth-ranked LSU traveling to Florida on SEC Network.  On Monday, third-ranked Stanford plays No. 16 UCLA on ESPN2.

On the ice, ABC will televise the NHL's Stadium Series outdoor game between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes from Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

In the boxing ring, PPV.com on Saturday will distribute the BLK Prime-produced fight between former four-division champion Adrien Broner and Michael Williams Jr., while DAZN will distribute the WBA featherweight title bout between champion Leigh Wood and challenger Mauricio Lara.  

ESPN and ABC on Saturday will kickoff the inaugural season of the upstart XFL pro football league. ABC will offer the Vegas Vipers-Arlington Renegades game while ESPN and FX will simulcast the primetime matchup between the Orlando Guardians and the Houston Roughnecks. 

Also: Disney Looking to Expand XFL Sponsor Roster as Season Kicks Off

On Sunday, XFL game telecasts include the St. Louis Battlehawks-San Antonio Brahmas contest on ABC and the Seattle Sea Dragons-D.C. Defenders matchup on ESPN.■ 

ESPN barely fought off Fox News for top honors in primetime as the pro and college football season comes to a close.

ESPN averaged 2.7 million viewers in primetime during the week of January 2 to January 8, topping Fox News’ 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen. ESPN was led by the 9.1 million viewers that tuned into its January 2 Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals Monday Night Football telecast, a game that ended in the first quarter after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. 

MSNBC finished third with 1.3 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 982,000 and CNN at 918,000 watchers. 

HGTV finished sixth with 826,000 viewers, followed by History (763,000 viewers), TBS (727,000), TLC (677,000) and INSP (676,000).

Fox News regained the top spot in total day -- a week after having its 51-week winning streak broken by ESPN -- with an average of 1.4 million viewers. ESPN (1.1 million viewers), MSNBC (950,000), CNN (740,000) and Hallmark Channel (505,000) followed close behind, reported Nielsen. ■

ESPN kicked off 2023 in grand style, topping both the primetime and the total-day charts.

The sports network, led by its New Year’s Eve College Football Playoff semifinals doubleheader coverage, averaged 7.7 million viewers in primetime during the week of December 26 to January 1, according to Nielsen. ESPN’s December 31 Georgia-Ohio State Peach Bowl telecast drew more than 22 million viewers, while its TCU-Michigan Fiesta Bowl telecast averaged more than 21 million viewers, said Nielsen.

Fox News Channel finished second in primetime with 1.3 million viewers, followed by Paramount Network’s 1.1 million viewers, Hallmark Channel’s 1 million viewers and HGTV’s 832,000 watchers.

MSNBC was sixth with 831,000 viewers, followed by TBS and TLC (tied with 737,000 viewers), INSP (696,000) and CNN (688,000).

ESPN averaged 2.9 million viewers on a total day basis to top all networks, ending Fox News’s winning streak at 51 weeks. The news network finished second with 1 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (662,000 viewers), MSNBC (632,000) and CNN (558,000), Nielsen reported. ■

The annual TBS-TNT A Christmas Story marathon happens on Christmas Eve and extends into Christmas Day. TBS begins the movie at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Christmas Eve, and it runs, over and over, for 24 hours. The same happens at TNT, where the film begins at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

The 1983 movie is set in the '40s. A boy, Ralphie, desperately wants a BB gun for Christmas, but mostly everyone else in his life thinks it’s a bad idea for a gift. Peter Billingsley plays Ralphie. Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin play his parents.

Bob Clark directed the film, based on Jean Shepherd's books.

TNT began the Christmas Story marathon in 1997, and TBS took it over in 2004 when TNT shifted to drama programming. Starting in 2014, both TBS and TNT began airing the Christmas Story marathon.

Both networks are part of Warner Bros. Discovery.

HBO Max, also part of Warner Bros. Discovery, premiered A Christmas Story Christmas, a sequel to the 1983 movie, November 17. An adult Ralphie, still played by Billingsley, returns to his old house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a memorable Christmas.

Clay Kaytis directed and Nick Schenk wrote the screenplay.

A Christmas Story 2, with Daniel Stern playing teen Ralphie’s father, came out in 2012. ■

Iconic pro golfer Tiger Woods heads up the lineup for TNT’s The Match charity golf event on Saturday (December 10), which will be played under the lights in primetime.

The network’s seventh iteration of the event from Florida -- which will also be simulcast on TBS, truTV and HLN -- pits pro golfers Woods and Rory McIlroy against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in a 12-hole exhibition event. The event marks Woods' return to The Match since appearing in 2020 and his first time since he suffered major leg injuries in a car crash in 2021. Woods also appeared in the inaugural The Match event in 2018.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports US Executive VP and Chief Content Officer Craig Barry said Woods' return to The Match will help draw viewers to the telecast.

"People love to watch him and he hasn't swung the club in a while, so people are looking forward to him playing," he said. 

Also: Turner Sports Head Lenny Daniels Leaves Warner Bros. Discovery

Barry also said The Match's evening start time changes the dynamic of how the event is produced and viewed as the golfers will play under the lights for the first time. "There's a lot of access to the players during the event, so as the players are in the golf cart or when we’re talking to them on-air, we have to make sure that we can see them," he said. "Keeping them in the light is a really important part of the production process."

The Match event takes place during a busy television sports environment that includes the World Cup as well as the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and college basketball games. Nevertheless, Barry is bullish on the appeal of The Match to sports fans.

"There's always concerns about competition, but we feel the move to primetime helps to differentiate it," he said. "Also the [golf] audience is different, so we're confident that we've positioned it from a programming standpoint where this event can stand out."

Proceeds generated from a number of golf challenges the competitors will participate in throughout the event will benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts, according to the network.

TNT will launch the event with a 30-minute roundtable discussion with Woods, McIlroy, Thomas and Spieth led by The Match host Brian Anderson. The Capital One The Match Pre-Match Show will then lead into the live competition, according to TNT.■

With the Midterm elections now over, ESPN has replaced Fox News at the top of the primetime charts.  

The sports network averaged 3.5 million viewers in primetime during the week of November 11 to November 20 for its third win in the last four weeks, according to Nielsen. Fox News finished in second place with 2.3 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel and MSNBC, which tied for third at 1.3 million viewers. CNN and Paramount Network tied for fifth with 877,000 watchers.

History (790,000 viewers), TLC (750,000), TBS (730,000) and Food Network (692,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched shows in primetime.

Fox News topped the total day chart for the 46th consecutive week with 1.5 million viewers, followed by ESPN (1 million viewers), MSNBC (818,000), Hallmark Channel (747,000) and CNN (625,000), according to Nielsen.■  

The midterm elections proved to be a ratings boondoggle for Fox News, which swept both the primetime and total day charts last week.

Fox News averaged 3.2 million viewers for the week of November 7 to November 13, stopping ESPN’s two-week winning streak, according to Nielsen. Fox News drew the most viewers across 13 networks providing election day coverage on November 8, drawing 7.4 million total viewers in primetime, reported Nielsen.

ESPN finished second for the week with 2.2 million views, followed by MSNBC with 1.7 million viewers.

Paramount Network -- bolstered by the more than 8 million viewers who tuned into the November 13 fifth season debut of its original drama series Yellowstone -- finished fourth for the week with 1.4 million viewers, while Hallmark Channel rode its holiday-themed programming to a fifth place tie with CNN with 1.2 million watchers.

Also: 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Has Year's Biggest Scripted Premiere with 12.1 Million L+SD Viewers

HGTV finished seventh with 737,000 viewers, followed by TLC (713,000 viewers), Food Network (681,000) and TBS (661,000).

Fox News extended its total day streak to 45 weeks with an average of 1.9 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (986,000 viewers), ESPN (818,000) CNN (767,000) and Hallmark Channel (670,000), said Nielsen.■  

ESPN rolled to its second-straight weekly primetime ratings win and Fox News Channel continued its dominance of the total-day charts during the first week of November.

ESPN averaged 3.1 million viewers in primetime during the week of October 31 to November 6, according to Nielsen. The sports network was bolstered in part by its November 5 Alabama-LSU college football telecast, which averaged 7.6 million viewers, the network's most-watched regular season game since 2016.

Fox News finished second with 2.4 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 1.1 million viewers and MSNBC with 1 million viewers. TLC finished fifth with 755,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (719,000), TBS (619,000), INSP (605,000), Food Network (566,000), and USA Network (557,000).

On the total-day front, Fox News averaged 1.6 million viewers for its 44th consecutive win, followed by ESPN (966,000), MSNBC (676,000), Hallmark Channel (665,000) and CNN (431,000), Nielsen said. ■  

Cable networks airing live sports programming scored big ratings returns last week, led by baseball playoffs-infused TBS.

TBS, bolstered by its coverage of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, averaged 2.9 million viewers during the week of October 17 to October 23 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen. ESPN, which continued to draw big audiences to Monday Night Football, finished second for the week with 2.7 million viewers.

FS1, which aired the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, pulled into fourth place in primetime with 1.6 million viewers, and in sixth place on the total day chart with 484,000 viewers.

Fox News finished third in primetime for the week with 2.3 million viewers, while MSNBC rounded out the top five most watched networks with 1.1 million viewers.

TNT was sixth with 1 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (982,000 viewers), HGTV (833,000), TLC (741,000) and INSP (635,000).

Fox News Channel remained atop the total-day charts for the 42nd week, fighting off challengers TBS (892,000 viewers), ESPN (888,000), MSNBC (719,000) and Hallmark Channel (549,000), Nielsen reported. ■  

Live sports programming continued to propel cable network ratings in primetime as ESPN and TBS topped last week's ratings chart.

ESPN — bolstered by its Monday Night Football and weekend college football telecasts — won its second-straight primetime weekly title, averaging 3 million viewers during the week of October 10-16, according to Nielsen. Coverage of Major League Baseball’s postseason American League Division Series helped TBS finish second in primetime with 2.4 million viewers, while the two National League Division Series led FS1 to a fourth-place finish with 1.3 million viewers.

Cable news networks Fox News Channel (2.1 million viewers) and MSNBC (1.3 million) took third and fifth place, respectively.

HGTV finished sixth with 808,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (780,000 viewers), TLC (673,000), TNT (656,000) and CNN (649,000).

Fox News (1.4 million viewers) held off a strong charge from ESPN (896,000) and TBS (848,000) to top the total day chart for the 41st consecutive week. MSNBC (843,000) and FS1 (562,000) rounded out the top five most-watched networks in the category for the week, according to Nielsen. ■ 

This weekend’s list of live TV sports events begins in the boxing ring as Fox Sports distributes a Saturday night pay-per-view boxing card featuring former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Wilder, whose last three PPV fights against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury combined drew more than 1.7 million pay-per-view buys, will fight division contender Robert Helenius as part of the PPV boxing event offered via In Demand and PPV.com. Also on Saturday, ESPN will distribute the lightweight championship rematch bout between titleholder Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr.

In addition, ESPN Plus will stream a Saturday afternoon main event bout between women’s middleweight champion Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall. 

On the baseball diamond, the division series playoff round continues on Saturday with TBS airing game four of the NLDS Atlanta Braves-Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers-San Diego Padres series. Both series were tied one game apiece heading into Friday’s action. 

FS1 will air game three of the ALDS series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians, with the Yankees holding a 1-0 game lead prior to Friday’s game, as well as the Houston Astros-Seattle Mariners series, with Houston holding a two games to none lead in the best-of-five series.  

College football launches its seventh week of regular-season action starting with top-ranked Georgia against Vanderbilt on the SEC Network, third-ranked Alabama against No. 6 Tennessee on CBS, fourth-ranked Clemson traveling to face Florida State on ABC and fifth-ranked Michigan battling tenth-ranked Penn State on Fox. Also on tap for Saturday is No. 7 USC-Utah (Fox), No. 8 Oklahoma State-TCU (ABC) and No. 9 Ole Miss-Auburn (ESPN).

NBC on Saturday will air the Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 302 playoffs race and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup South Point 400 playoffs race. 

NBC on Sunday will air its Sunday Night Football game telecast featuring the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles and their NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys.■ 

ESPN and Fox News battled to a weekly cable primetime tie during the last week in September.

ESPN, helped by the more than 7 million viewers who tuned into its Sept. 26 Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants Monday Night Football game, and Fox News – buoyed by its coverage of powerful Hurricane Ian’s landfall early last week in Florida – each averaged 2.1 million viewers during the week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, according to Nielsen.

MSNBC pulled into third place with 1.1 million viewers followed by HGTV’s 809,000 viewers, CNN’s 770,000 viewers and TLC’s 748,000 watchers. Hurricane Ian coverage also bolstered The Weather Channel, which finished seventh with 700,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (698,000), INSP (664,000) and TBS (580,000), said network officials.

Fox News averaged 1.4 million viewers on a 24-hour basis to top all cable networks for the 39th straight week, followed by ESPN (815,000 viewers), MSNBC (779,000) CNN (670,000) and The Weather Channel (662,000), said Nielsen. ■  

Fox News capped an impressive summer run with a sweep of the weekly cable ratings charts for August, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers in primetime for the week of August 22 to August 28 to top the chart for the 13th consecutive week, reported Nielsen. MSNBC finished second for the week with 1.3 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 1 million viewers.

HGTV was the most watched entertainment-based network with 944,000, followed by NFL Network, which rode its live NFL pre-season game coverage to a fifth place finish with 769,000 viewers.

TBS finished sixth with 745,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (743,000 viewers), TLC (734,000), INSP (722,000) and USA Network (685,000). 

The three cable news networks led the total day chart, with Fox News finishing first for the 34th consecutive week with 1.4 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 820,000 viewers and CNN with 524,000 watchers. HGTV (499,000 viewers) and ESPN (466,000) rounded out the top five most-watched networks on the chart, said Nielsen. ■  

The dog days of summer haven’t slowed down the cable news networks’ domination of the weekly primetime and total day ratings charts.

Fox News and MSNBC topped both the primetime and total day charts during the week of August 15 to August 22, marking the sixth consecutive week the two news networks occupied the top positions, according to Nielsen.

In primetime, Fox News finished first with 2.3 million viewers – its 12 consecutive week in the top slot – followed by MSNBC with 1.3 million viewers. ESPN finished third with 887,000 viewers, followed by HGTV’s 872,000 viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 870,000 watchers.

TLC (766,000 viewers), CNN (750,000,) INSP (720,000) NFL Network (709,000) and TBS (673,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime.

On a total day basis, Fox News ran its consecutive winning streak to 33 weeks with an average of 1.4 million viewers. MSNBC (822,000 viewers) and CNN (564,000) finished second and third respectively, followed by HGTV (479,000) and Hallmark Channel (470,000), reported Nielsen. 

The cable news networks, bolstered by coverage of the August 8 FBI raid on former President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home in Florida, nearly swept the top spots on the weekly primetime and total day charts.

Fox News topped the primetime chart for the week of Aug. 8 to Aug. 14, averaging 2.7 million viewers in notching its 11th straight win, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished second for the week with 1.5 million, while CNN finished fourth with 893,000 viewers.

HGTV was the most watched entertainment network with 961,000 viewers to finish third, while Hallmark Channel finished fifth with 7770,000 viewers.

Major League Baseball game telecasts and Pre-season NFL football game airings helped propel ESPN (765,000 viewers) and NFL Network (758,000) to sixth and seventh place finishes respectively, followed by TLC (743,000), INSP (684,000) and TBS (653,000).

Fox News led the charge on the total day charts, averaging 1.6 million viewers for its 32nd consecutive win, followed by MSNBC’s 934,000 viewers and CNN’s 662,000 viewers. HGTV (508,000) and Hallmark Channel (452,000) rounded out the top five most watched cable networks for the week, according to Nielsen. ■  

Cable news networks Fox News Channel and MSNBC continued their hot summer ratings pace, leading both the primetime and total-day charts for the first week of August.

Fox News finished first in primetime for the 10th consecutive week, averaging 2 million viewers for the week of August 1-7, followed by MSNBC with 978,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.

On a total-day basis, Fox News extended its win streak to 31 consecutive weeks with an average of 1.4 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 670,000 watchers.

It’s the fourth week in a row that Fox News and MSNBC have occupied the top two slots in both the primetime and total-day charts, Nielsen said. 

HGTV was the most watched network in both primetime (925,000 viewers) and total day (528,000 viewers.) INSP finished fourth in primetime with 816,000 viewers, followed by TLC’s 804,000 viewers.

TBS (768,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (763,000), CNN (656,000), Discovery Channel (655,000) and Food Network (654,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime.

On a total-day basis, CNN (51,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (452,000), INSP (425,000), Food Network (422,000), TV Land (383,000), USA Network (370,000), and TBS (359,000) finished among the top 10 most-watched cable networks, Nielsen reported. ■

Fox News last week concluded a dominant July ratings performance by sweeping both the primetime and total day charts for the month.

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of July 25 to July 31 to top all cable networks for the ninth consecutive week, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished second with 1.1 million viewers. 

HGTV was the most watched entertainment network for the week with 965,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel’s 957,000 viewers and TBS’s 836,000 watchers.

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks for the week in primetime were Discovery Channel (810,000 viewers), INSP (809,000), TLC (802,000), USA Network (679,000) and ESPN (676,000), said Nielsen.

On a total-day basis, Fox News crushed the cable network field with an average of 1.3 million viewers to notch its 30th consecutive weekly chart win, followed by MSNBC (688,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (554,000), HGTV (518,000) and CNN (485,000), reported Nielsen. ■

Fox News and MSNBC continue to sizzle on the ratings front, taking the top two spots on both the primetime and total day charts last week.

Fox News was the most watched cable network in primetime for the week of July 18 to July 24 with 2.2 million viewers, its eighth-straight weekly chart win, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished second for the second consecutive week with 1.6 million viewers. 

ESPN, propelled by the more than 6 million viewers that tuned into its July 19 Home Run Derby contest, finished third with 1.1 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel with 1 million watchers.

CNN was fifth with 998,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (919,000 viewers), TLC (890,000), TBS (814,000), INSP (764,000) and USA Network (736,000), said Nielsen.

Fox News ran its win streak on a 24-hour basis to 28 weeks with an average of 1.4 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (849,000 viewers), CNN (579,000), Hallmark Channel (576,000) and HGTV (520,000), reported Nielsen. 

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee will not return on TBS. The weekly late-night show lasted for seven seasons.

“After 7 seasons, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee will not be returning to TBS this fall. We’re so thankful for our loyal audience, our amazing team, and that we got to annoy the right people every week—that there wasn't wrestling or baseball or a very special episode of Big Bang,” said @FullFrontalSamB on Twitter. 

Bee was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart before starting Full Frontal.

When season seven was announced last year, TBS said, “Shining a spotlight on important issues and people, Sam provides needed commentary and asks questions of authority and ourselves that need to be asked,” while noting Bee’s knack for timely and topical humor. 

The series is executive-produced by Bee, Jones, Tony Hernandez of Jax Media, Miles Kahn, Alison Camillo and Pat King. ■

The cable news networks rode to the top of the total day charts last week while Fox News continued its winning streak on the primetime charts.

Fox News finished first on a 24-hour basis during the week of July 11 to July 17 for its 28th consecutive win with an average of 1.36 million viewers, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished second with 824,000 viewers, followed by CNN with 564,000 watchers.

Hallmark Channel (564,000 viewers) and HGTV (507,000) were the top entertainment networks on the chart, reported Nielsen.

On a primetime basis, Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers for its seventh consecutive weekly win, followed by MSNBC’s 1.3 million viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 939,000 viewers.

HGTV was fourth with 888,000 viewers, followed by TLC with 834,000 watchers. TBS (753,000 viewers), Discovery Channel (737,000), INSP (726,000), History (722,000) and CNN (660,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime, said Nielsen.

The return of two high-profile, Emmy-nominated cable series highlights a busy summer week of original show premieres.

FX’s comedy series What We Do In The Shadows debuts its fourth season July 12 with the first of 10 new episodes for the vampire-themed show. The series, which stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Mark Proksch, has already been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, according to the network.

Debuting July 11 is the first of the final six episodes of the Emmy-winning AMC series Better Call Saul. The series, a spinoff of AMC’s Breaking Bad series, will feature appearances from Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. Better Call Saul stars Bob Odenkirk.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of July 11-17 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

July 11 – Chad (returning series) – TBS

July 11 – Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (returning series) – Peacock

July 12 – The Only (documentary) – Paramount Plus

July 13 – Everything’s Trash (comedy) – Freeform

July 13 – D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? (documentary) – Netflix

July 13 – South Park: The Streaming Wars (part 2) – (animation) – Paramount Plus

July 14 – FBoy Island (reality) – HBO Max

July 14 – Hart to Heart (returning series) – Peacock

July 14 – Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (animation) – Netflix

July 14 – Resident Evil (horror) – Netflix

July 14 – Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons (documentary) – Hulu

July 15 – Don’t Make Me Go (drama) – Prime Video

July 15 – The Rehearsal (comedy) – HBO

July 15 – Zombies 3 (movie) – Disney Plus

July 17 – Colosseum (documentary) -- History

Fox News Channel continued its control over the top spot on the cable ratings charts heading into July.

The cable news service averaged 2 million viewers in primetime during the week of June 27-0July 3 to top the chart for the fifth straight week, according to Nielsen. MSNBC finished second with 1.3 million viewers, followed by HGTV with 866,000 viewers. 

INSP finished fourth with 784,000 viewers followed by Discovery Channel’s 746,000 viewers and TLC’s 216,000 watchers. Hallmark Channel (712,000 viewers), History (694,000), TBS (686,000) and CNN (672,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime.

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers to take top honors for the 26th consecutive week, followed by MSNBC (838,000), CNN (565,000), HGTV (507,000) and Hallmark Channel (468,000), Nielsen said. ■

The NBA and the NHL playoffs proved to be ratings juggernauts for TNT and ESPN as both networks placed among the top three most-watched services on the primetime and total day charts.

TNT finished in first place in primetime for the week of May 9 to May 15, averaging 3.4 million viewers, topping Fox News (2.2 million viewers) for the second straight week, according to Nielsen. The network was led by both its NBA and NHL playoff game coverage, including this past Sunday’s Dallas Mavericks-Phoenix Suns Game Seven NBA Western Conference semifinal series telecast which drew more than 6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. 

ESPN, which also televised several NBA and NHL playoffs games, averaged 2.1 million viewers to finish third for the week, followed by MSNBC’s 983,000 viewers and HGTV’s 927,000 watchers. 

TBS, which drew 2.3 million viewers for its May 15 New York Rangers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game Seven NHL playoffs telecast, averaged 821,000 viewers to finish in sixth place for the week, followed by INSP (764,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (743,000), TLC (722,000) and History (721,000).

Fox News retained the total day crown for the 19th consecutive week with 1.4 million viewers, besting TNT (912,000 viewers), ESPN (757,000), MSNBC (621,000) and HGTV (502,000), reported Nielsen. 

ESPN on Monday (May 2) will drop the puck on coverage of its first Stanley Cup Playoffs under parent The Walt Disney Co.’s new seven-year deal with the National Hockey League, featuring 12 playoff games airing on ESPN and ESPN2 over the next three nights. 

All of Disney’s playoff telecasts will air on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT and TBS also airing games. On the digital front, ESPN Plus will feature replay coverage of every playoff game and will simulcast all Disney-distributed NHL conference finals and Stanley Cup Finals games live.

Disney will look to build on its regular-season ratings momentum. ESPN and ABC averaged 616,000 viewers across a slate of 26 game telecasts. That’s up from the 391,000 viewers previous rightsholders NBC and NBCSN averaged during the 2021-22 season, according to Sports Business Journal. 

ESPN senior VP of programming and acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan spoke to Multichannel News about the network’s multiplatform Stanley Cup Playoffs strategy. Here’s an edited transcript of that conversation.

MCN: Do you feel you're sufficiently serving the hockey fan with your multiplatform approach? 

Ilan Ben-Hanan: I think that we have both qualitative and quantitative data to kind of back that up. Beyond the [linear] ratings, we saw increases in our female demos for our hockey coverage year-over-year from our previous partners, and we saw insane growth in our hockey content consumed on ESPN.com. To be completely transparent, some of that comes with being the rightsholder and having expansive rights in that space. But getting those rights is one thing, using them is another and making sure fans know to come and engage with it is quite another. Going into the playoffs, we’re going to make [ESPN2 weekly NHL studio show] The Point a daily series. We recently launched other shows like The Drop on social platforms YouTube and Twitter, and we launched an NHL TikTok page, which is another prong in our strategy of serving hockey fans where they are. 

MCN: How will your playoff coverage differ from what viewers saw during the regular season? 

IBH: Starting Monday with the NHL Playoffs and the NBA playoffs happening simultaneously — and with ESPN and the Turner Sports networks holding rights to both — it’s almost going to be a square dance for us. Every night if we’re going big with hockey, Turner’s going big with the NBA, and vice versa. If you're a sports fan, you'll be able to find meaningful, do-or-die playoff games on networks that you know in ESPN and ESPN2, TNT and TBS. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we're gonna have 12 playoff games — four games a night with doubleheaders each on ESPN and ESPN2. Turner Sports will have [NHL] games Thursday and Friday, and we’ll each have games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Every time one of us has hockey, the other will have NBA games. It feels like March Madness, but bigger because it lasts longer and it’s multiple sports categories. 

MCN: What role does the streaming platform play in the postseason with all the NHL postseason games moving to linear?

IBH: All of the live games will be on a linear network somewhere, either on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT or TBS, but the digital component does not go away. There are a lot of things we're doing on the digital side. Every single playoff game is available through archive re-airs on ESPN Plus. In addition, we're gonna be simulcasting the Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals on ESPN Plus. In addition, we’re going to have on ESPN Plus Quest for the Stanley Cup, which we produce in partnership with the NHL, that goes behind the scenes and inside the locker room with teams. So yes, the television live games will be on linear television, but the overarching multiplatform approach continues and even enhances when it comes to the playoffs.

MCN: By what metrics will you use to determine whether ESPN’s first year of NHL coverage under its new TV deal is a success? 

IBH: While the ratings are important, that’s not the only metric by which we judge success. Getting to see the usage on ESPN Plus and being innovative in bringing live sports to Hulu, as well as being able to launch these storytelling franchises and studio shows like The Drop and launching on TikTok are all how we measure our success. If it was just a ratings play, we’d be happy with that, too, but that’s not the only metric. I've been beating that drum internally a lot, because I think there are a lot of people who have for years and years thought whether the ratings were up or down was all that matters, but it's not. It’s a much, much broader and more well-rounded story than that. ▪️ 

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 TV’s most-promoted programming ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the seven-day period through April 17.

AMC’s Better Call Saul -- which just entered its sixth and final season -- is No. 1, making it TV’s most-promoted show. 

Traditional broadcasters are entirely missing from our top five, as AMC is joined by other cable networks: Hallmark Channel, which gives some love to When Calls the Heart in second place; Disney Channel, which promotes the Planet Possible collection of Earth Month-themed DisneyNow content in third place; and Food Network, which hypes Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition and Big Restaurant Bet in, respectively, fourth and fifth.

Notably, the Disney promo has the 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) Better Call Saul, AMC

Impressions: 215,935,689

Interruption Rate: 1.91%

Attention Index: 103 (3% fewer interruptions than avg.)

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

In-network Value: $405,354

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $675,961

2) When Calls the Heart, Hallmark Channel

Impressions: 192,302,376

Interruption Rate: 3.48%

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

Imp. Types: National 100%, Local 0%, VOD/OTT 0%

In-network Value: $1,230,259

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) Planet Possible Collection on DisneyNow, Disney Channel

Impressions: 192,296,641

Interruption Rate: 1.90%

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

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

In-network Value: $1,176,692

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition, Food Network

Impressions: 191,291,191

Interruption Rate: 1.05%

Attention Index: 113 (13% fewer interruptions than avg.)

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

In-network Value: $680,743

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Big Restaurant Bet, Food Network

Impressions: 174,241,396

Interruption Rate: 1.12%

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

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

In-network Value: $612,706

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

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

For more information about Promo Mojo — including the chart positions of promos beyond the top five — contact mediapartnerships@ispot.tv.

Impressions: The total impressions within all U.S. households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD plus 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.

Impression 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).

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 TV’s most-promoted programming ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the seven-day period through April 10.

CBS’s CMT Awards telecast, honoring country music videos and television performances, is No. 1, making it TV’s most-promoted show. (The previous week CBS took the top spot for the Grammys.)

The rest of the ranking is dominated by cable networks: Food Network hypes the second season of Chef Boot Camp and new reality competition Big Restaurant Bet in, respectively, second place and fourth place (both shows are new to the top five this week). Paramount Network takes third place (for the second week in a row) to promote the ninth season of Bar Rescue. And TBS gives some love to its new series Rat in the Kitchen in fifth (returning to the top five after a one-week absence).

Notably, the Bar Rescue promo has the week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (115), 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) 2022 CMT Music Awards, CBS

Impressions: 252,530,108

Interruption Rate: 1.74%

Attention Index: 114 (14% fewer interruptions than avg.)

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

In-network Value: $1,256,007

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $35,370

2) Chef Boot Camp, Food Network

Impressions: 196,572,647

Interruption Rate: 1.39%

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

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

In-network Value: $659,697

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) Bar Rescue, Paramount Network

Impressions: 195,477,961

Interruption Rate: 2.06%

Attention Index: 115 (15% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 98%, Local 1%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $995,740

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Big Restaurant Bet, Food Network

Impressions: 194,058,506

Interruption Rate: 1.34%

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

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

In-network Value: $618,308

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Rat in the Kitchen, TBS

Impressions: 175,096,961

Interruption Rate: 2.54%

Attention Index: 82 (18% more interruptions than avg.)

In-network Value: $1,895,493

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $22,529

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

For more information about Promo Mojo — including the chart positions of promos beyond the top five — contact mediapartnerships@ispot.tv.

Impressions: The total impressions within all U.S. households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD plus 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.

Impression 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).

Fox News Channel kept its place atop the weekly primetime basic-cable ratings, defeating March Madness-infused TBS for the second straight week.

Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers in primetime for the week of April 4-10 to finish first, ahead of TBS (1.5 million viewers) and TNT (1.2 million). Both TBS and TNT were aided by the combined 17 million viewers who tuned into the networks’ simulcast with truTV of the April 4 Kanasas-North Carolina NCAA Men‘s Basketball Tournament title game, according to Nielsen.

HGTV and ESPN finished tied for fourth place with 1.1 million viewers, while MSNBC grabbed the sixth spot with 1 million viewers. TLC (935,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (853,000), INSP (817,000) and Food Network (761,000) rounded out the top 10 most-watched cable networks.

Fox News won its 15th straight weekly total-day ratings crown with an average of 1.5 million viewers. Finishing well off the pace were MSNBC (660,000 viewers), ESPN (654,000), HGTV (592,000), and CNN (586,000), Nielsen said. ▪️