Thursday Overnights: Game 1 of the ‘NBA Finals’ Crosses the Winning Finish Line

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018

Household Rating/Share
ABC: 8.7/15, CBS: 3.4/ 6, NBC: 2.9/ 5, Fox: 1.3/ 2, CW: 0.5/ 1

Percent Change From the Year-Ago Evening:
NBC: +21, CBS: +10, ABC: – 8, CW: -17, Fox: -43

Ratings Breakdown:
It was all about game one of The NBA Finals (Golden State Warriors 124, Cleveland Cavaliers 114) on ABC, which scored an estimated 11.7 rating/21 share in the household overnights from 9 p.m. to 11:52 p.m. ET. Comparably, that was five percent below the 12.3/22 on the year-ago evening, which translated into 18.7 million viewers and a 6.9 rating/27 share in adults 18-49 (based on the Live+Same Day data).

Results for any live event are always approximate.

Earlier in the evening on ABC was a primetime edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the 8 p.m. half-hour (#2: 3.4/ 6 – also estimated), followed by the NBA Countdown pre-game at an approximate 4.0/ 7 (#2) at 8:30 p.m. The rest of the evening was all repeats.

What follows are the household overnight ratings for Thursday, May 24 broken out by half-hour:

8:00 p.m.
ABC – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: 3.4/ 6 (#2)
CBS – “The Big Bang Theory” (R): 4.7/ 9 (#1)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 3.3/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “MasterChef” (R): 1.5/ 3 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.6/ 1 (#5)

8:30 p.m.
ABC – NBA Countdown: 4.0/ 7 (#2)
CBS – “Young Sheldon” (R): 4.4/ 8 (#1)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 3.2/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “MasterChef” (R): 1.4/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Supernatural” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

9:00 p.m.
ABC – NBA Finals, Game 1: 9.1/16 (#1)
CBS – “Mom” (R): 3.5/ 6 (#2)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 3.3/ 6 (#3)
Fox – “Beat Shazam!” (R): 1.1/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning” (R): 0.5/ 2 (#5)

9:30 p.m.
ABC – NBA Finals, Game 1: 11.3/19 (#1)
CBS – “Life in Pieces” (R): 2.6/ 5 (#3)
NBC – “America’s Got Talent”: 3.3/ 6 (#2)
Fox – “Beat Shazam!” (R): 1.3/ 2 (#4)
CW – “Black Lightning” (R): 0.5/ 1 (#5)

10:00 p.m.
ABC – NBA Finals, Game 1: 11.8/20 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (R): 2.6/ 4 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance” (R): 2.3/ 4 (#3)

10:30 p.m.
ABC – NBA Finals, Game 1: 12.5/22 (#1)
CBS – “S.W.A.T. (R): 2.4/ 5 (#2)
NBC – “World of Dance” (R): 2.1/ 4 (#3)

Source: Nielsen Media Research