Weekly Cable Ratings: NBA Playoffs Drive TNT to Sixth-Straight Primetime Win

Game 5 of 2023 NBA Western Conference finals
Some 6.28 million viewers watched Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks down the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on TNT May 30. (Image credit: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA playoffs last week delivered one final ratings score for TNT, which finished first in primetime for the sixth straight week. 

TNT averaged 2.5 million viewers in primetime for the week of May 27-June 2 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The network’s performance was bolstered by the final two games of the Dallas Mavericks-Minnesota Timberwolves Western Conference Finals. Game 4 of the series on May 28 averaged 6.87 million viewers, while the series-concluding Game 5 on May 30 drew 6.28 million viewers.

Fox News Channel finished second for the week with 2.1 million viewers, followed by ESPN, with 1.9 million viewers; MSNBC, with 1.4 million viewers; and Hallmark Channel, with 705,000 watchers. HGTV was sixth with 688,000 viewers, followed by CNN (625,000), INSP (618,000), TBS (560,000) and USA Network (532,000).

Fox News continued its dominance in total day, averaging 1.3 million viewers for the 21st consecutive week, followed by MSNBC (969,000), ESPN (605,000), TNT (541,000) and CNN (540,000), according to Nielsen. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.