UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.24.2016

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

NETWORK FINALS:  Nielsen got it all correct on the first try, and there were no changes from the preliminary numbers.

Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart  

CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  This is an opportune time for a reminder that only about one-third of US households subscribe to HBO, not to mention that the network has a robust online presence for cable subscribers and OTT users, and since it’s not advertiser-supported, it truly doesn’t care when and how its viewers watch its shows.  So the 3.98 for the GAME OF THRONES premiere is actually the equivalent of an out of this world 12 rating in 18-49s on a broadcast network if not more, a number that even puts THE WALKING DEAD in the shade. The rating is down 0.21 from the 2015 premiere, but it’s likely that HBO’s online viewership has grown in the past year, so total eyeballs may be just as high as in 2015 and perhaps higher.  SILICON VALLEY’s 1.04 was down 0.22 from last year’s premiere, but the same caveats apply, as they do to VEEP’s 0.03 decline to 0.52.  With the boost of a strong lead-in line-up, LAST WEEK TONIGHT soared by three-tenths to 0.59, slightly better even than VEEP.  (Incidentally, an 8PM rerun of Beyonce’s LEMONADE was at 0.35/715K, almost the same numbers it had in its premiere on Saturday night.)

It wasn’t any fun being a network airing scripted competition against HBO on Sunday.  AMC’s FEAR THE WALKING DEAD toppled by 0.41 to 2.12, still a substantial hit but a rather mortal number (TALKING DEAD fell 0.14 to 0.70).  On Showtime, HOUSE OF LIES lost 0.04 to 0.14, and DICE ticked down to 0.06.  Starz’s THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, which aired an hour before GAME OF THRONES, held last week’s 0.08.

The HBO and AMC juggernauts pushed TNT’s NBA PLAYOFFS games to 3rd and 4th place, although the Cleveland vs. Detroit game was still strong at 1.93, with the Atlanta vs. Boston game at 1.24. Discovery’s NAKED & AFRAID shed 0.02 to 0.81.  On Adult Swim, ROBOT CHICKEN gained 0.06 to 0.70, and MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES rose 0.12 to 0.67, with MR. PICKLES up 0.13 to 0.54.  On Bravo, SHAHS OF SUNSET fell 0.18 to 0.52, and THICKER THAN WATER dropped 0.05 to 0.31.  On Food Network, SPRING BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP fell 0.07 to 0.41, and GUY’S GROCERY GAMES held at 0.40, with CUTTHROAT KITCHEN down a tenth to 0.33.  TLC’s LONG LOST FAMILY gamed 0.06 to 0.36, and WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE was up 0.07 to 0.33.  On Spike, BAR RESCUE slipped 0.02 to 0.36, and LIFE OR DEBT added 0.05 to 0.24.  National Geographic’s STORY OF GOD fell 0.11 to 0.32.  E!’s I AM CAIT dropped 0.03 to 0.30.  Hallmark’s GOOD WITCH lost 0.04 to 0.21.  Sundance premiered its miniseries REBELLION at a miniscule (even for Sundance) 0.01/96K.

Top 50 Original Cable Telecasts with Demographic Detail

Top 150 Original Cable Telecasts
To search for a show: type Ctrl-F and type your show title in the search box.

###