Sunday Final Nationals: ‘Game of Thrones’ on HBO Returns Strong

CBS and TNT each won a part of this Sunday night. CBS was prime time’s most-watched network with an average of 8.32 million viewers; TNT, with an “NBA Eastern Conference First Round Game 4” doubleheader: Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, then Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons, topped all key demographics including adults 18-49, adults 18-34 and adults 25-54 (approximately a 1.6 rating for each demo).

HBO was the runner-up network among adults 18-49 (an approximate 1.4 rating from 7-11 p.m.), thanks to the sixth season premiere of the popular hit fantasy drama “Game of Thrones”. The 9:07-9:57 p.m. telecast drew 7.944 million viewers in live plus same day data, according to Nielsen; it was the third most-watched single-day telecast of the series to-date, behind the fifth season finale on June 14, 2015 (8.112 million) and the fifth season premiere on Apr. 12, 2015 (7.997 million). Sunday’s episode, however, broke usage records on the standalone streaming service HBO Now on the evening.

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Season five of “Game of Thrones” averaged 9.51 million viewers, according to Live+7 Day data. The series ranked fifth in adults 18-49 in Live+7 among all entertainment series on television, broadcast or cable, for the 2014-15 season.

In the afternoon, Game 4 of Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets on ABC was the most-watched first round NBA Playoffs game on any network in 14 years (since 2002), according to Nielsen and as reported by ESPN. The broadcast averaged 7.238 million total viewers and a 4.5 U.S. household rating. Despite the game turning into a rout in favor of Golden State, the telecast peaked from 5:30-6 p.m. ET with 8.346 million total viewers and a 5.0 U.S. household rating. Warriors’ star point guard and favorite for this season’s MVP Steph Curry injured his knee just before the game’s first half. As a result, he will sit out of action for the next two weeks.

Sunday’s Game 4 on ABC was up 11 percent in viewership and 10 percent in rating from last year’s comparable first round game between the L.A. Clippers-San Antonio Spurs which drew 6.514 million million viewers and a 4.1 U.S. rating.

The game is the most-watched first round NBA Playoffs game since April 21, 2002, when the L.A. Lakers played the Portland Trail Blazers.

Game 4 delivered a 20.7 rating in the San Francisco market, making it the highest-rated first round NBA Playoffs game in the market across any network as far as records go back (2003). In Houston, the game drew a 10.9 rating, making it the second-highest rated NBA Playoffs first round game in the market, on any network, as far as records go back (2003).

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	Sunday, April 24, 2016
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
7-11	Network Average	2.4/4	3808	0.8/3	1.0/3	1.3/4
7:00	America’s Funniest Home Videos	2.9/5	5010	0.9/4	1.2/5	1.5/5
8:00	Once Upon a Time	2.4/4	3848	0.9/4	1.2/4	1.4/4
9:00	The Family	1.9/3	2918	0.5/2	0.8/2	1.0/3
10:00	Quantico	2.3/4	3456	0.7/3	1.0/3	1.2/3
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
7-11	Network Average	5.3/9	8317	0.4/2	0.9/3	1.5/4
7:00	60 Minutes	6.4/12	10052	0.5/2	1.0/4	1.7/5
8:00	Madam Secretary	6.0/10	9573	0.5/2	1.0/3	1.6/5
9:00	The Good Wife	5.5/9	8488	0.4/2	1.0/3	1.6/4
10:00	Elementary	3.3/6	5153	0.4/2	0.7/2	1.1/3
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
7-11	Network Average	3.0/5	4738	0.5/2	0.9/3	1.2/3
7:00	Little Big Shots (r)	2.7/5	4353	0.5/2	0.7/3	0.9/3
8:00	Little Big Shots (r)	4.3/7	6982	0.6/2	1.1/4	1.7/5
9:01	The Carmichael Show	2.3/4	3549	0.4/1	0.7/2	1.1/3
9:30	Crowded	1.9/3	2996	0.4/1	0.7/2	1.0/3
10:00	Dateline NBC	2.8/5	4287	0.4/2	0.9/4	1.3/4
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
7-10	Network Average	1.2/2	2002	0.7/3	0.9/3	1.0/3
7:00	Bordertown	0.7/1	1155	0.3/2	0.4/2	0.5/2
7:30	The Simpsons (r)	0.8/2	1363	0.5/2	0.6/2	0.6/2
7:59	The Simpsons	1.6/3	2767	1.0/4	1.2/4	1.4/4
8:30	Bob’s Burgers	1.4/2	2346	1.0/4	1.1/4	1.3/3
9:00	Family Guy (r)	1.3/2	2205	0.8/3	1.0/3	1.1/3
9:30	The Last Man on Earth	1.3/2	2126	0.7/3	0.9/3	1.0/3
	PROGRAM	HH/Share	Viewers (000)	Adults 18-34	Adults 18-49	Adults 25-54
7-11	Network Average	1.1/2	1997		0.7/2
7:00	Aqui y Ahora	0.9/2	1407		0.4/2
8:00	Nuestra Belleza	1.2/2	2164		0.8/2
10:06	Sal y Pimienta	1.3/2	2261		0.8/3

Sub-Demo Breakdowns – Sunday 4/24/16

Cable Rankings – Sunday 4/24/16

What follows are the top 100 most-watched shows in prime time on cable (by order of network) for Sunday, April 24:

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research