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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., May 29-30) -- deep dive for Game 1 of NBA Finals

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Absent LeBron James and with a Canadian team for the first time, Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals not surprisingly had deflated ratings in D-FW compared to the previous two years.

The Toronto Raptors’ 118-109 win over the defending champ Golden State Warriors, which ended at 10:36 p.m. on ABC, averaged 358,494 total viewers and 178,133 within the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range.

Last year’s opener, between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, drew 455,814 total viewers, with 230,924 in the 18-to-49 realm. And that was a drop off from 2017’s Game 1 between the same two teams, which had 501,706 total viewers and 237,325 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

The good news for the NBA is that no other pro sport draws a higher percentage of 18-to-49ers. In each of these three cases, roughly half the audience hit that sweet spot.

Game 1 still dominated all competing programming. The runner-up in both ratings measurements, Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast, had 161,674 total viewers and 48,307 of the 18-to-49 persuasion.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. news otherwise paced Wednesday’s prime-time programming with 210,879 total viewers. And it tied Fox’s 7 p.m. episode of Masterchef among 18-to-49-year-olds with 60,384 apiece.

NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. season premiere of American Ninja Warrior had decent returns with 133,557 total viewers and 51,326 in the 18-to-49 demographic. It won the 8 to 9 p.m. hour in both ratings measurements before the Peacock’s premiere of The InBetween fell hard, particularly with 18-to-49ers (a sub-measly 9,058).

Here are the local news derby results for Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday -- WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 took the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. races and added 5 and 6 p.m. wins with 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 had the most total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m.

Thursday -- NBC5 won a downsized three-way race at 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements.

Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m. The 6 p.m. spoils went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds. At 5 p.m., WFAA8 had the most total viewers and Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net