NBA Finals, Jan. 6 hearing lead ABC to ratings win

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC was the top-rated television network last week largely behind the NBA Finals, and its news division won bragging rights for the first prime-time hearing of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The 5.2 million people who watched the hearing on ABC was more than any other network, and a quarter of its total audience, the Nielsen company said.

The Tony Awards reached 4.22 million viewers on Sunday, a bounce-back for Broadway after last year's show in September was seen by 2.75 million people. Last year theater was just returning from its pandemic pause.

The two games of the Golden State-Boston NBA Finals series last week both exceeded 10 million viewers, Nielsen said.

For the week, ABC averaged 4.1 million viewers in prime time. CBS had 3.3 million, NBC had 2.7 million, Fox had 1.4 million, Univision had 1.1 million, Ion Television had 1 million and Telemundo had 880,000.

Fox News Channel led the cable networks, averaging 2.23 million viewers in prime time. ESPN had 1.7 million, MSNBC had 1.39 million, HGTV had 985,000 and CNN had 829,000.

ABC's “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race with an average of 7 million viewers. NBC's “Nightly News” had 6 million and the “CBS Evening News” averaged 4.4 million.

For the week of June 6-12, the top 20 programs, their networks and viewerships:

1. NBA Finals: Golden State at Boston (Friday), ABC, 12.06 million.

2. NBA Finals: Golden State at Boston (Wednesday), ABC, 11.52 million.

3. “America's Got Talent,” NBC, 6.37 million.

4. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 5.42 million.

5. Jan. 6 Committee Hearing, ABC, 5.22 million.

6. Jan. 6 Committee Hearing (9-10 p.m.), MSNBC, 4.42 million.

7. “Tony Awards,” CBS, 4.22 million.

8. Jan. 6 Committee Hearing (8-9 p.m.), MSNBC, 4.19 million.

9. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 4.16 million.

10. “FBI,” CBS, 4.14 million.

11. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 3.88 million.

12. “FBI: International,” CBS, 3.83 million.

13. “America's Funniest Home Videos,” ABC, 3.74 million.

14. “NBA Countdown” (Friday), ABC, 3.701 million.

15. Jan. 6 Committee Hearing, NBC, 3.696 million.

16. “The Price is Right,” CBS, 3.687 million.

17. “NCIS,” CBS, 3.58 million.

18. “NBA Countdown” (Wednesday), ABC, 3.53 million.

19. Jan. 6 Committee Hearing, CBS, 3.49 million.

20. “Let's Make a Deal,” CBS, 3.49 million.

David Bauder, The Associated Press