Fast National ratings for Sunday, May 19, 2013.
Coverage of the Billboard Music Awards hit its biggest overall audience since 2001 and its biggest audience among young viewers since 2003, helping ABC win Sunday night in all measures.
FOX was second for the night in the all-important demographic with its animation finales, while CBS was second with “Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night” drawing lackluster numbers.
NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” finale, meanwhile, was down by 32 percent over last year’s closer.
Among adults 18-49, ABC averaged a 3.1 rating for Sunday night, far ahead of FOX’s 1.8 rating in the key demographic. CBS did a 1.3 key demo rating, topping NBC’s 1.1 key demo rating.
Overall, ABC averaged an estimated 8.86 million viewers and a 5.1 rating/9 share for Sunday night, beating the 5.0/8 and 7.82 million viewers for CBS. There was a big drop to NBC’s 2.6/4 and 3.93 million viewers and FOX’s 3.9 million viewers and a 2.2/4.
7 p.m. – CBS started primetime in first overall with 10.37 million viewers for “60 Minutes,” which finished second with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was second with 7.035 and won the hour with a 1.8 key demo rating, way up from both last week’s episode and last year’s finale. NBC’s “The Voice” encore was third overall with 2.45 million viewers and fourth with a 0.6 key demo rating. FOX’s “The Cleveland Show” finale averaged 2.33 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating.
8 p.m. – ABC moved into first in the 8 p.m. hour with 9.39 million viewers and a 3.4 rating among adults 18-49 for the start of the Billboard Music Awards. CBS’ “60 Minutes” was second with 8.53 million viewers and third with a 1.3 key demo rating. FOX’s hour of “The Simpsons” averaged 4.2 million viewers for third and a 2.0 key demo rating for second. Another hour of “Voice” encoring averaged 2.77 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating for NBC.
9 p.m. – A second hour of Billboard Music Awards coverage rose to 9.88 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC in the 9 p.m. hour. CBS’ “Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night” was second with 6.41 million viewers and fourth with a 1.2 key demo rating. FOX’s hour of “Family Guy” averaged 5.18 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating, beating the 5.09 million viewers and 1.4 key demo rating for NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” finale.
10 p.m. – The Billboard Music Awards telecast averaged 9.15 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49 for ABC in the 10 p.m. hour. CBS’ “Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night” remained second overall with 5.96 million viewers and averaged a 1.2 key demo rating in third. NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” finale was up to 5.42 million viewers and a 1.6 key demo rating in its last hour.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.