History rode the phenomenal success of its mini-series Hatfields & McCoys to the summer season's first weekly cable ratings win.
History averaged 6.0 million viewers to top all basic cable network for the week of May 28 to June 3, according to a Disney-ABC Television Group analysis of Nielsen data. History's three-part Hatfields & McCoys finished as the top three most watched shows for the week as well as securing the top three spots among all non-sports shows for ad-supported basic cable networks.
ESPN and TNT's coverage of the NBA Conference playoff finals placed them second and third for the week respectively. ESPN's airing of the Miami Heat-Boston Celtics Eastern Conference finals helped the network average 4.6 million viewers for the week, while TNT's Oklahoma City Thunder-San Antonio Spurs Western Conference finals coverage bolstered the network's 3.0 million weekly watchers.
Last year's summer ratings champion USA Network finished fourth with 2.3 million subscribers, while Disney Channel finished fifth with 2 million viewers. TBS (1.59 million viewers), Fox News (1.56 million), A&E (1.54 million), Food Network (1.21 million) and FX (1.2 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks for the week.
Most Watched Shows For The Week
DateShow NetworkTotal Viewers
5/30 Hatfields & McCoys PART 3 History 14 million
5/28 Hatfields & McCoys PART 1 History 13.4 million
5/29 Hatfields & McCoys PART 2 History 12.7 million
6/3 NBA Playoffs: Heat/Celtics ESPN 11.1 million
5/28 NBA Playoffs: Celtics/Heat ESPN 8.9 million
5/30 NBA Playoffs: Celtics/Heat ESPN 8.8 million
6/1 NBA Playoffs: Heat/Celtics ESPN 7.5 million
5/29 NBA Playoffs: Thunder/Spurs TNT 7.2 million
5/31 NBA Playoffs: Spurs/Thunder TNT 7.1 million
5/28 Pawn Stars History 6.6 million
Source: Nielsen
