Overnights
Modest bump for CBS's Tony Awards
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 16, 2008 - 11:59:45 AM

The Tony Awards have aired opposite some tough competition the past two years. Last year it was the series finale of HBO’s “The Sopranos;” this year it was the U.S. Open and NBA finals.

Apparently there are fewer crossover sports fans. Last night the Tonys averaged a 4.4 household rating from 8 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, up 5 percent from last year’s 4.2 rating.

As a reminder, fast nationals measure only timeslot data and not actual program data, meaning that ratings for last night’s three live events will adjust when final numbers are issued tomorrow. The Tonys, the U.S. Open and NBA game all had irregular run times.

But this year's Tony Awards may see a very slight increase over last year’s record-low 4.2 final rating, while still finishing well below a 5.2 for the 2006 awards. “South Pacific” was the night’s biggest winner, with the Rodgers and Hammerstein revival scoring seven trophies.

Meanwhile, ABC finished first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 4.3 average overnight rating and a 13 share. NBC was second at 2.9/9, Fox third at 1.6/5, CBS fourth at 1.1/3, Univision fifth at 0.6/2 and CW sixth at 0.4/1.
 
At 7 p.m. NBC was first with a 3.5 for coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament, followed by ABC with a 2.5 for a repeat of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” CBS was third with a 1.2 for “60 Minutes,” Fox fourth with a 1.0 for a “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” rerun, Univision fifth with a 0.5 for the first of three hours of “Alas: El Concierto por los Niños” and CW sixth with a 0.2 for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
 
NBC led again at 8 p.m. with a 4.3 for more golf, with ABC second with a 3.6 for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (3.2) and NBC pregame (4.0). Fox was third with a 1.8 for repeats of “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill,” CBS fourth with a 1.0 for the first hour of the “Tony Awards,” Univision fifth with a 0.6 for more “Alas” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for repeats of “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Aliens in America.”
 
ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 5.4 for the first hour of the NBA finals game between the Lakers and Celtics, while Fox jumped to second with a 2.2 for repeats of “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” NBC slipped to third with the first half of a “Saturday Night Live” Mike Myers special, with CBS fourth with a 1.1 for more “Tonys,” Univision fifth with a 0.7 for another hour of “Alas” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for repeats of “The Game” and “Girlfriends.”
 
At 10 p.m. ABC was first with a 5.7 for more basketball, followed by NBC with a 1.8 for the second hour of its “SNL” special. CBS was third with a 1.1 for the last hour of the “Tonys” and Univision fourth with a 0.7 for “El Pantera.”
 
ABC also finished first for the night among households with a 6.3 average overnight rating and an 11 share. NBC was second at 5.6/10, CBS third at 4.5/8, Fox fourth at 2.2/4, Univision fifth at 0.8/2 and CW sixth at 0.6/1.