TNT Weathers NBA Declines to Grab Ratings Crown

Despite having weathered significant declines in its NBA Playoff deliveries, TNT in May dominated the core demos, averaging 1.53 million viewers 18-49 and 1.5 million adults 25-54.According to Nielsen ratings data for the period spanning April 26-May 30, TNT withstood drops of 21 percent among both target demos, as its postseason NBA schedule was hampered by a pair of decidedly lopsided second-round matchups. (Both Western Conference Semis pairings were a bust, with the Lakers and Suns sweeping their respective opponents 4-0.)Through Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, TNT drew 4.06 million viewers over the course of 37 NBA Playoff telecasts, a drop of 9 percent from the year-ago period.ESPN also took a bit of a hit, as the Magic swept the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis. Through May 26, the sports net delivered 4.43 million viewers over the course of 18 postseason games, down 6 percent from last year’s campaign.Although the year-over-year comparisons were shaky, the NBA still dominated May’s lineup, representing each of the top 10 telecasts on ad-supported cable. ESPN’s presentation of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semis battle between Boston and Cleveland drew a hair under 9 million viewers on May 13, while TNT notched its biggest draw on May 27, with the Lakers’ 103-101 squeaker over the Suns (8.67 million).ESPN took second place among the younger demos, averaging 1.14 million viewers 18-49 (up 6 percent) and 588,000 viewers 18-34 (up 2 percent). TNT won the 18-34 crowd outright, averaging 790,000 on the month (down 21 percent).Bristol finished third with adults 25-54, drawing 1.1 million, an improvement of 7 percent from May 2009.USA Network was tops among total viewers in prime, averaging 3.03 million viewers, up 5 percent from its year-ago delivery (2.88 million). The NBC Universal powerhouse posted declines among the key demos, falling 11 percent among viewers 18-49 (1.12 million) and 9 percent with the 25-54 crowd (1.21 million). USA was also down 13 percent with its delivery of viewers 18-34, averaging 493,000.Among total viewers, fourth place went to Fox News Channel. The network registered an 8 percent decline, averaging 1.82 million viewers in prime, while deliveries of its core 25-54 demo were off 4 percent from May 2009, to 449,000.Nick-at-Nite retained fifth place on the month, drawing an average crowd of 1.76 million viewers between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., marking an 11 percent increase. In total day, Nickelodeon once again beat all comers, averaging 2.13 million viewers (up 2 percent).Rounding out the top 10 in prime were: History, which improved a whopping 32 percent to 1.5 million viewers; TBS, which dipped 4 percent to 1.47 million viewers; Cartoon Network, up 17 percent to 1.29 million viewers; A&E, which inched forward 1 percent in prime to 1.29 million viewers and Discovery Channel, which averaged 1.21 million viewers, a drop of 7 percent year-over-year.Tops among the core TV demo were: TNT, ESPN, USA, TBS, History, Discovery Channel, FX, A&E, Comedy Central and ABC Family. All told, May was a mixed bag for ad-supported cable nets, as no fewer than 12 players withstood double-digit ratings declines. Seven nets enjoyed gains of 10 percent or better.On a percentile basis, the biggest gains were registered by the aforementioned History and Oxygen. The female-friendly NBCU net grew its nightly deliveries 32 percent to 441,000 viewers, a haul that includes a 31 percent improvement among viewers 18-49 (231,000) and a 22 percent increase among women 18-49 (167,000). Other big gainers were: Animal Planet, up 16 percent to 658,000 prime time viewers; ABC Family, improving 12 percent to 1.07 million viewers and E!, up 11 percent to 595,000 viewers.The greatest year-over-year declines were registered by: VH1, which saw its monthly deliveries drop 29 percent to 526,000 total viewers; CNN, down 23 percent to 596,000 viewers; CMT, down 22 percent to 309,000 viewers; Hallmark Channel, down 20 percent to 689,000 viewers; MTV, off 19 percent to 629,000; TNT, down 18 percent to 2.92 million; Headline News, off 18 percent to 440,000; Lifetime, down 17 percent (827,000); ESPN2, off 15 percent (413,000) and Spike TV, off 14 percent to 824,000 viewers.FX (1.17 million) and TLC (901,000) absorbed declines of 11 percent. Non-ad-supported Disney Channel took third place among all basic-cable networks, averaging 2.3 million viewers in prime, up 7 percent versus the prior-year period. The Mouse maintained a comfortable lead among the kiddie demos, averaging 943,000 viewers 6-11 (up 4 percent) and 1.28 million viewers 2-11 (up 8 percent). The Mouse faces mounting competition for share of the ‘tweens 9-14 demo. Disney Channel was up 2 percent in the demo last month, drawing 769,000 ‘tweens, while runner-up Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite trailed by 133,000 viewers. A year ago, Nick/NAN averaged 419,000 ‘tweens in prime; with May’s delivery of 648,000, the Viacom net was up a staggering 57 percent.

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TNT Weathers NBA Declines to Grab Ratings Crown

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi