The first round of the NBA playoffs served gave both TNT and ESPN a ratings boost last week, with both finishing among the top three most-watched basic-cable networks in primetime.
TNT averaged 2.7 million viewers in primetime during the week of April 17-23, topping all cable networks and ending Fox News Channel’s three-week run in the top spot, according to Nielsen. ESPN finished third for the week, averaging 1.5 million viewers.
Fox News fell to second place with 2 million viewers, with cable news competitor MSNBC finishing fourth with 1.1 million watchers. TBS was No. 5 with 806,000 viewers.
Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were HGTV (788,000 viewers), History (780,000), INSP (725,000), Hallmark Channel (682,000) and USA Network (663,000).
Fox News extended its total day winning streak to 15 straight weeks with an average of 1.2 million viewers, followed by TNT (932,000 viewers), MSNBC (735,000), ESPN (595,000) and HGTV (447,000), reported Nielsen.
