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Saturday Ratings: USFL Debut on NBC and Fox Draws Comparable Total Audience as NBA Playoffs on ABC

Saturday, April 16, 2022
Fast Affiliate Data (time period based)

Total Viewers:
ABC: 2.76 million, CBS: 2.40, NBC: 1.50, Fox: 1.47, CW: 0.37

Adults 18-49:
ABC: 0.8 rating/ 7 share, CBS, NBC and Fox: 0.2/ 2 each, CW: 0.0/ 0

Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoff matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors made ABC the top single network in prime time on Saturday night, with the pre-game (Viewers: 2.06 million; A18-49: 0.4 rating/5 share) and game itself (Viewers: 2.90 million; A18-49: #1, 0.8/7).

For the third time within the past five years, a new football league launched in the spring. On this night, it was the United States Football League (USFL) which debuted in a two-network simulcast on NBC and Fox. For the 8-10 p.m. portion of the league’s first game of the New Jersey Generals versus the Birmingham Stallions:

NBC: Viewers: 1.52 million; A18-49: 0.2 rating/ 2 share
Fox: Viewers: 1.43 million; A18-49: 0.2 rating/ 2 share
Combined: Viewers: 2.95 million; A18-49: 0.4 rating/ 4 share

While ABC’s NBA playoff coverage clearly had the edge in young adults, the USFL on NBC and Fox combined for a similar result in total viewers.

Keep in mind that these fast affiliate results for any live sports are always approximate.

CBS was in the mix with a double dose of newsmagazine “48 Hours”, one episode at 9 p.m. (Viewers: 2.32 million; A18-49: 0.2/ 2) and another at 10 p.m. (Viewers: 2.84 million; A18-49: 0.3/ 3).

The second episode of the American version of comedic game show “Would I Lie To You?” (Viewers: 0.39 million; A18-49: 0.1/ 1) was relatively steady on the CW from its series debut of one week earlier. The 9 p.m. airing of “Masters of Illusion” (Viewers: 0.26 million; A18-49: 0.0/ 0) was down by about half from the previous week when it had made its Saturday night time slot premiere.

UPDATED 4/25/2022: What follows are the Live + Seven Day rating results for the night’s network telecasts on Saturday, April 16:

48 Hours (CBS, 10:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 2.981 million viewers, 0.31 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 3.897 million viewers, 0.41 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.916 million viewers (+31%), +0.09 adults 18-49 rating (+30%)

Love & Marriage: Huntsville (OWN, 8:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.389 million viewers, 0.06 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.563 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.174 million viewers (+45%), +0.06 adults 18-49 rating (+97%)

Hallmark Original Movie Love, Classified (2022) (HALL, 8:00 PM, 121 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.263 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.696 million viewers, 0.17 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.433 million viewers (+34%), +0.06 adults 18-49 rating (+47%)

Portals To Hell (TRAV, 10:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.500 million viewers, 0.07 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.689 million viewers, 0.10 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.189 million viewers (+38%), +0.03 adults 18-49 rating (+45%)

Movie Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story (2022) (LIF, 8:00 PM, 123 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.746 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.884 million viewers, 0.14 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.138 million viewers (+18%), +0.02 adults 18-49 rating (+17%)

Smuggler: Secret Stash (NGC, 9:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.431 million viewers, 0.10 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.483 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.052 million viewers (+12%), +0.02 adults 18-49 rating (+17%)

AEW: Battle Of The Belts (TNT, 8:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.527 million viewers, 0.18 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.576 million viewers, 0.20 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.049 million viewers (+9%), +0.02 adults 18-49 rating (+9%)

Unfiltered with Dan Bongino (FOXNC, 9:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.361 million viewers, 0.09 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.469 million viewers, 0.10 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.108 million viewers (+8%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+16%)

Pawn Stars: Best Of (HIST, 9:00 PM, 63 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.778 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.939 million viewers, 0.13 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.161 million viewers (+21%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+11%)

Mash-Up Our Home (HGTV, 9:00 PM, 60 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.870 million viewers, 0.12 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.982 million viewers, 0.13 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.112 million viewers (+13%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+9%)

NBA Playoffs on ABC (S) (ABC, 8:35 PM, 161 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 4.520 million viewers, 1.33 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 4.592 million viewers, 1.34 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.072 million viewers (+2%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+1%)

Fox USFL Football (FOX, 7:46 PM, 185 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.757 million viewers, 0.33 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.789 million viewers, 0.34 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.032 million viewers (+2%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+2%)

NASCAR Trucks Racing (FS1, 8:04 PM, 118 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.167 million viewers, 0.24 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.202 million viewers, 0.25 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.035 million viewers (+3%), +0.01 adults 18-49 rating (+3%)

UFC Fight Night (ESPN, 8:52 PM, 191 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.914 million viewers, 0.31 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.965 million viewers, 0.31 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.051 million viewers (+6%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+1%)

USFL on Fox Postgun (FOX, 10:51 PM, 9 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.173 million viewers, 0.20 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.178 million viewers, 0.20 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.005 million viewers (+0%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+1%)

NBC USFL Football (S) (NBC, 7:46 PM, 185 min.)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 1.310 million viewers, 0.23 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 1.321 million viewers, 0.23 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.011 million viewers (+1%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+1%)

Source: Nielsen Media Research

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