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Thursday Final Nationals: ESPN Dominates with Ohio State-Indiana College Football Thursday Opener

On a night with many broadcast network preemptions due to local NFL preseason telecasts, ESPN ranked as the most-viewed network in Thursday primetime (8 p.m. – 11 p.m.) among households, viewers and all key male and adult demos.

The cable sports network delivered its most-watched opening weekend Thursday game on record with Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers, which registered a total live audience of 5.428 million viewers factoring ESPN, ESPNU and streaming editions. The game was also simulcast on various other ESPN platforms such as ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3.

Ohio State @ Indiana represented an increase of 172 percent over last year’s opening Thursday game (South Carolina at Vanderbilt). ESPN’s MegaCast TV audience (ESPN and ESPNU) peaked at 6.457 million viewers as the Indiana Hoosiers held a 14-13 lead heading into halftime (9:45-10 p.m.).

ESPN’s college football TV viewership was more than 13 times larger than FS1’s college football TV audience (Tulsa at Oklahoma State: 382,000 viewers) on Thursday night.

(Source: ESPN)



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* AFF = Number of affiliates (stations) airing the program
* CVG = percent of coverage in U.S.
Programming Insider Thursday, August 31, 2017
ABC PROGRAM AFF* CVG*
(PCT)		 HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 1.3/2 2021 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.7/2
8:00 Battle of the Network Stars (rs) 252 86 1.4/3 2257 0.3/2 0.6/3 0.7/3
9:00 Battle of the Network Stars (r) 242 82 1.2/2 1896 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.6/2
10:00 The Gong Show (r) 242 81 1.3/2 1910 0.3/1 0.4/2 0.6/2
CBS PROGRAM AFF* CVG*
(PCT)		 HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 2.0/4 3170 0.5/3 0.8/3 1.0/3
8:00 Kevin Can Wait (rs) 235 83 1.8/3 2618 0.2/1 0.5/2 0.7/3
8:31 Kevin Can Wait (r) 231 84 1.6/3 2529 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.7/2
9:00 Big Brother 19 260 91 3.0/5 4906 1.1/6 1.5/6 1.8/6
10:00 Zoo 242 89 1.3/3 2030 0.3/2 0.4/2 0.6/2
NBC PROGRAM AFF* CVG*
(PCT)		 HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 1.8/3 2810 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.7/2
8:00 The Wall (r) 228 84 1.8/3 2705 0.3/1 0.5/2 0.7/2
9:00 The Wall (rs) 223 83 1.7/3 2642 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.7/2
10:00 The Night Shift 235 87 2.1/4 3082 0.3/2 0.6/2 0.8/3
Fox PROGRAM AFF* CVG*
(PCT)		 HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-10 Network Average 1.1/2 1698 0.4/2 0.5/2 0.7/2
8:00 Beat Shazam (r) 206 86 1.1/2 1813 0.4/2 0.6/3 0.8/3
9:01 Love Connection 209 86 1.1/2 1579 0.3/2 0.5/2 0.6/2
CW PROGRAM AFF* CVG*
(PCT)		 HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-10 Network Average 0.5/1 841 0.1/1 0.2/1 0.3/1
8:00 Penn & Teller: Fool Us (r) 226 69 0.6/1 935 0.1/1 0.2/1 0.3/1
9:00 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (r) 225 69 0.4/1 747 0.1/0 0.2/1 0.2/1
9:30 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (r) 226 69 0.4/1 747 0.1/1 0.2/1 0.3/1
Univision PROGRAM HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 1.0/2 1736 0.6/2
7:00 La Rosa de Guadalupe 0.9/2 1690 0.6/3
8:00 Enamorándome de Ramón 1.0/2 1760 0.6/3
9:00 Mi Marido Tiene Familia 1.0/2 1814 0.6/2
10:00 La Tierra Prometida (preliminary) 0.9/2 1635 0.5/2
PROGRAM HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 0.2/0 371 0.1/1
7:00 La Candidata 0.2/0 246 0.1/0
8:00 Totalmente Diva (r) 0.2/0 293 0.1/0
9:00 Totalmente Diva 0.3/0 438 0.2/1
10:00 Rosario Tijeras 0.2/0 383 0.1/1
PROGRAM HH/Share Viewers
(000)		 Adults
18-34		 Adults
18-49		 Adults
25-54
8-11 Network Average 1.0/2 1725 0.7/4 0.7/3
7:00 Caso Cerrado: Edición Estelar 0.8/2 1395 0.3/2 0.4/2
8:00 Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio 0.8/2 1391 0.5/3 0.5/2
9:00 Sin Senos Sí Hay Paraíso 1.0/2 1730 0.7/3 0.7/3
10:00 El Señor de Los Cielos V 1.1/2 2054 0.9/5 1.0/4

Sub-Demo Breakdowns – Thursday 8/31/17


“Big Brother 19” (CBS)
Women 18-34: 1.4/7
Men 18-34: 0.7/4
Women 18-49: 1.8/7
Men 18-49: 1.2/5

“Zoo” (CBS)
Women 18-34: 0.4/2
Men 18-34: 0.2/1
Women 18-49: 0.5/2
Men 18-49: 0.4/1

“The Night Shift” (NBC)
Women 18-34: 0.4/2
Men 18-34: 0.2/1
Women 18-49: 0.7/3
Men 18-49: 0.4/2

“Love Connection” (Fox)
Women 18-34: 0.4/2
Men 18-34: 0.2/1
Women 18-49: 0.5/2
Men 18-49: 0.4/2

“Queen of the South” (USA)
0.93 household rating
1.331 million viewers
0.39 adults 18-49 rating
Women 18-34: 0.33
Men 18-34: 0.24
Women 18-49: 0.48
Men 18-49: 0.31

“The Guest Book” (TBS, 10:30)
0.78 household rating
1.164 million viewers
0.40 adults 18-49 rating
Women 18-34: 0.30
Men 18-34: 0.25
Women 18-49: 0.45
Men 18-49: 0.35

Live+3 Days Ratings – Thursday 8/31/17

VWRS = Viewers, in thousands; LBL = Telecast label designations, such as O (original), P (premiere), R (repeat), S (special), B (breakout, e.g. different start time or interrupted coverage), G (gapped)
Net Program LBL A1849
L+SD		 A1849
L+3		 L+3
Gain		 VWRS
L+SD		 VWRS
L+3		 L+3
Gain
ABC BATTLE NETWORK STARS-8/31 RS 0.51 0.51 0% 1930 1938 0%
ABC BATTLE OF NETWORK STARS RB 0.43 0.44 3% 1639 1669 2%
ABC THE GONG SHOW RB 0.40 0.41 5% 1652 1723 4%
CBS KEVIN CAN WAIT-SPECIAL RS 0.47 0.48 1% 2558 2616 2%
CBS KEVIN CAN WAIT-THU R 0.54 0.54 1% 2558 2606 2%
CBS BIG BROTHER-THU O 1.48 2.08 41% 4894 6558 34%
CBS ZOO O 0.45 0.61 35% 2039 2978 46%
NBC WALL R 0.51 0.52 3% 2720 2784 2%
NBC WALL 9P 8/31 RS 0.54 0.55 2% 2646 2705 2%
NBC NIGHT SHIFT O 0.57 0.82 44% 3085 4337 41%
FOX BEAT SHAZAM R 0.60 0.63 4% 1820 1869 3%
FOX LOVE CONNECTION O 0.48 0.58 21% 1577 1910 21%
CW PENN & TELLER:FOOL US RB 0.21 0.21 2% 932 968 4%
CW WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY RB 0.18 0.20 13% 744 814 9%
CW WHOSE LINE IS IT-ENC RB 0.20 0.22 7% 744 802 8%


Cable Rankings – Thursday 8/31/17
What follows are the top 100 most-watched shows in prime time on cable (by order of network) for Thursday, August 31:

* Vwrs = Viewers in thousands; V-No. = Prime time rank in viewers; D-No. = Prime time rank in demo (adults 18-49)
V-No.* D-No.* Program Net Start Dur Vwrs* A1849
64 59 THE FIRST 48 A&E 8:00 PM 60 598 0.19
79 91 MURDER OF LACI PETERSON A&E 9:00 PM 61 389 0.14
60 65 MURDER LACI PETERSON AC A&E 10:01 PM 62 609 0.18
58 32 KING OF THE HILL ADSM 8:00 PM 30 621 0.24
44 13 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 8:30 PM 30 768 0.35
45 14 CLEVELAND SHOW ADSM 9:00 PM 30 761 0.34
29 7 AMERICAN DAD ADSM 9:30 PM 30 1007 0.45
26 5 BOB’S BURGERS ADSM 10:00 PM 30 1107 0.50
20 2 BOB’S BURGERS ADSM 10:30 PM 30 1229 0.59
54 65 AMC MOVIE: TOMBSTONE AMC 8:00 PM 180 665 0.18
59 20 SAWCQ-L URUGUAY / ARGENTINA (0.32 HH, 0.27 A18-34) BEIE 7:00 PM 121 617 0.29
72 26 SAWCQ-L BRASIL / ECUADOR (0.26 HH, 0.22 A18-34) BEIE 9:01 PM 103 511 0.26
97 85 SAWCQ-L PERU / BOLIVIA (0.15 HH, 0.13 A18-34) BEIE 10:44 PM 90 300 0.15
76 91 FLIPPING OUT BRAVO 8:00 PM 60 456 0.14
31 14 FLIPPING OUT BRAVO 9:00 PM 60 986 0.34
81 98 GIRLFRIEND’S GUIDE TO DIVORCE BRAVO 10:00 PM 60 373 0.13
90 73 SOUTH PARK CMDY 8:00 PM 30 331 0.17
91 73 SOUTH PARK CMDY 8:30 PM 30 330 0.17
92 73 TOSH.O CMDY 9:00 PM 30 329 0.17
100 85 TOSH.O CMDY 9:30 PM 30 293 0.15
96 85 TOSH.O CMDY 10:00 PM 30 308 0.15
88 80 TOSH.O CMDY 10:30 PM 30 336 0.16
22 28 ANDERSON COOPER 360 CNN 8:00 PM 60 1197 0.25
24 42 CUOMO PRIMETIME CNN 9:00 PM 60 1127 0.22
39 65 CNN TONIGHT CNN 10:00 PM 60 870 0.18
55 65 PJ MASKS DISJR 8:00 PM 25 643 0.18
38 80 RAVEN’S HOME DSNY 8:00 PM 30 899 0.16
51 32 BOTCHED E! 9:00 PM 60 712 0.24
80 91 BOTCHED E! 10:00 PM 60 376 0.14
1 1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRIME: OHIO STATE @ INDIANA (3.03 HH, 1.64 A18-34) ESPN 8:00 PM 229 5126 1.92
49 73 TENNIS: US OPEN PRIME (0.50 HH, 0.14 A18-34) ESPN2 7:00 PM 338 753 0.17
53 47 CHOPPED GRILL MASTERS FOOD 8:00 PM 60 673 0.21
56 73 CHOPPED FOOD 9:00 PM 60 641 0.17
43 51 BEAT BOBBY FLAY FOOD 10:00 PM 30 800 0.20
48 51 BEAT BOBBY FLAY FOOD 10:30 PM 30 756 0.20
2 42 TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT FOXNC 8:00 PM 60 2481 0.22
5 32 THE FIVE FOXNC 9:00 PM 60 2196 0.24
4 47 HANNITY FOXNC 10:00 PM 60 2205 0.21
86 85 BIG SCREEN MOVIE: JUST GO WITH IT FRFM 5:40 PM 160 339 0.15
78 91 BIG SCREEN MOVIE: LIFE AS WE KNOW IT FRFM 8:20 PM 160 415 0.14
47 24 FX MOVIE PRIME: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS FX 8:00 PM 180 758 0.27
98 98 THE SIMPSONS FXX 10:00 PM 30 297 0.13
94 85 THE SIMPSONS FXX 10:30 PM 30 319 0.15
69 98 THE MIDDLE HALL 10:00 PM 30 548 0.13
65 91 THE MIDDLE HALL 10:30 PM 30 576 0.14
63 28 SUICIDE SQUAD HBO 8:00 PM 123 601 0.25
32 65 FLIP OR FLOP HGTV 8:00 PM 30 954 0.18
30 59 FLIP OR FLOP HGTV 8:30 PM 30 997 0.19
17 39 FLIP OR FLOP ATLANTA HGTV 9:00 PM 30 1281 0.23
19 42 DESERT FLIPPERS HGTV 9:30 PM 30 1238 0.22
14 32 HOUSE HUNTERS HGTV 10:00 PM 30 1327 0.24
12 32 HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL HGTV 10:30 PM 30 1344 0.24
34 80 MOUNTAIN MEN AC HIST 8:00 PM 60 939 0.16
7 17 MOUNTAIN MEN HIST 9:00 PM 63 1901 0.32
14 23 ICE ROAD TRUCKERS HIST 10:03 PM 60 1327 0.28
41 51 AMERICAN MONSTER ID 8:00 PM 60 820 0.20
25 28 KISS OF DEATH ID 9:00 PM 60 1118 0.25
18 18 GUILTY RICH ID 10:00 PM 60 1247 0.30
66 91 PROJECT RUNWAY: SOCIAL LIF 8:00 PM 50 565 0.14
35 47 PROJECT REWIND LIF 8:50 PM 10 920 0.21
10 8 PROJECT RUNWAY LIF 9:00 PM 92 1637 0.42
33 32 PROJECT RUNWAY FL LIF 10:32 PM 15 952 0.24
8 51 ALL IN W/ CHRIS HAYES MSNBC 8:00 PM 60 1829 0.20
3 20 RACHEL MADDOW SHOW MSNBC 9:00 PM 60 2267 0.29
6 51 LAST WORD W/ L. ODONNELL MSNBC 10:00 PM 60 2071 0.20
89 73 MTV2 WILD N OUT MTV 8:00 PM 30 334 0.17
99 85 MTV2 WILD N OUT MTV 8:30 PM 30 295 0.15
92 73 NICK CANNON WILDN OUT S8B MTV 9:00 PM 30 329 0.17
85 65 MTV2 WILD N OUT MTV 9:30 PM 30 350 0.18
82 59 NICK CANNON WILD N OUT S9 MTV 10:00 PM 30 372 0.19
83 59 NICK CANNON WILD N OUT S9 MTV 10:30 PM 30 362 0.19
27 18 SPONGEBOB: THE MOVIE NAN 8:00 PM 120 1072 0.30
46 28 FULL HOUSE NAN 10:00 PM 30 760 0.25
42 20 FULL HOUSE NAN 10:30 PM 30 812 0.29
52 39 NFL PRESEASON (LIVE): L.A. RAMS @ GREEN BAY (0.47 HH, 0.17 A18-34) NFLN 7:00 PM 186 707 0.23
61 47 NFL PRESEASON (LIVE): SEATTLE @ OAKLAND (0.40 HH, 0.19 A18-34) NFLN 10:06 PM 187 607 0.21
87 80 SPIKE TV MOVIE: RUSH HOUR SPIKE 6:30 PM 150 337 0.16
95 80 SPIKE TV MOVIE: THE LONGEST YARD (2005) SPIKE 9:00 PM 150 310 0.16
71 59 SYFY MOVIE: STEPHEN KING’S IT SYFY 4:20 PM 250 527 0.19
62 51 SYFY MOVIE: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SYFY 8:30 PM 150 606 0.20
57 42 SEINFELD TBS 8:00 PM 30 633 0.22
50 24 SEINFELD TBS 8:30 PM 30 720 0.27
21 9 THE BIG BANG THEORY TBS 9:00 PM 30 1223 0.41
11 4 THE BIG BANG THEORY TBS 9:30 PM 30 1567 0.54
9 3 THE BIG BANG THEORY TBS 10:00 PM 30 1730 0.56
23 10 THE GUEST BOOK TBS 10:30 PM 30 1164 0.40
68 91 MY 600-LB LIFE TLC 10:00 PM 61 555 0.14
67 59 TNT BIG PICTURE MOVIES: INVINCIBLE TNT 8:00 PM 136 562 0.19
83 65 IMPRACTICAL JOKERS TRU 8:00 PM 30 362 0.18
77 51 IMPRACTICAL JOKERS TRU 8:30 PM 30 424 0.20
75 32 IMPRACTICAL JOKERS TRU 9:00 PM 30 478 0.24
73 39 IMPRACTICAL JOKERS TRU 9:30 PM 30 491 0.23
37 6 IMPRACTICAL JOKERS TRU 10:00 PM 30 915 0.47
70 26 IJ: AFTER PARTY TRU 10:30 PM 30 544 0.26
40 65 EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND TVL 10:00 PM 30 855 0.18
36 51 EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND TVL 10:30 PM 30 918 0.20
28 16 LAW & ORDER: SVU USA 8:00 PM 60 1039 0.33
16 12 LAW & ORDER: SVU USA 9:00 PM 60 1309 0.37
13 11 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH USA 10:00 PM 60 1332 0.39
74 42 GROWING UP HIP HOP WETV 9:00 PM 60 490 0.22

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

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