The first round of the NBA and NHL playoffs proved to be ratings gold for TNT and ESPN as both networks finished at the top of the cable primetime ratings chart last week.
TNT averaged 3.2 million primetime viewers during the week of April 24 to April 30 to top the chart for the second straight week, according to Nielsen. ESPN averaged 2.3 million viewers to finish second for the week with 2.3 million watchers.
Fox News Channel finished third with 1.4 million viewers in the first week following the loss of its primetime news show Tucker Carlson Tonight after Carlson's departure from the network. MSNBC finished fourth with 1.2 million viewers.
History was fifth with 798,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (773,000), INSP (740,000), TBS (715,000), Hallmark Channel (656,000), and CNN (622,000).
Fox News won for the 16th straight week on the total day chart with an average of 1 million viewers, followed by TNT (883,000 viewers), ESPN (822,000), MSNBC (784,000), and CNN (451,000), Nielsen reported.
