Weekly Cable Ratings: NBA, NHL Playoffs, NFL Draft Score for TNT, ESPN in Primetime

Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves slam dunks the ball ahead of Bradley Beal #3 and Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half of game four of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Footprint Center on April 28, 2024
Game 4 of the Suns-Timberwolves NBA playoff series on April 24 was TNT’s top-rated primetime telecast of the week. (Image credit: Getty Images)

ESPN and TNT’s NBA and NHL postseason coverage propelled both networks to the top of the primetime charts during the last full week of April.

TNT topped all cable networks in primetime during the week of April 22-28 with an average of 2.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News Media. The network was led by its April 28 Game 4 telecast of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Phoenix Suns NBA playoff series, which averaged 3.6 million viewers.

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ESPN finished second for the week with 2 million viewers, paced by its April 25 telecast of the NFL draft, which drew 5.5 million viewers. 

Fox News Channel was third with 1.9 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1.4 million viewers and CNN’s 772,000 watchers. HGTV was sixth with 734,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel (686,000 viewers), History (658,000), TBS (615,000) and USA Network (547,000).

Fox News finished first on a 24-hour basis for the 16th straight week, with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (980,000 viewers), TNT (805,000), ESPN (744,000), and CNN (582,000), according to Nielsen. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.