By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --One thing in shorter supply during what has always been known as broadcast television’s rerun season is reruns.
Of the 100 most-watched prime time programs on broadcast networks last week, one-third were repeats, according to the Nielsen company. The Fourth of July week would be considered the height of summer rerun season, as it is traditionally the least-watched week of television in a calendar year, or close to it.
A generation ago, the majority of prime-time broadcast shows in the summer would be reruns. But modern-day consumers are increasingly less willing to watch programs that have been on the air before, particularly when cable gives them a greater degree of choice. Networks have been forced to adapt by providing more original programming in the summer.
The 33 reruns include a handful of immediate repeats, with episodes of shows like CBS’ “Extant” or NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” that ran originally only days earlier. CBS also had the most popular scripted original series of the week with the premiere of “Zoo.”
The more traditional CBS had 16 of the 33 reruns, including popular shows “NCIS” and “The Big Bang Theory” that finished in the Nielsen company’s top 10 for the week. ABC was next with 10.
Fox scored a rare win in the weekly prime-time ratings, led by its coverage of Sunday’s women’s World Cup soccer final where the U.S. beat Japan. (The game isn’t on Nielsen’s list of top individual programs since coverage began before prime time).
For the week, Fox averaged 6.7 million viewers, CBS had 5 million, NBC had 4.7 million, ABC had 3.5 million, Univision had 2.1 million, Telemundo had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1 million and the CW had 730,000.
USA was the most popular cable network, averaging 1.66 million viewers in prime time. Discovery had 1.6 million, TNT had 1.58 million, the Disney Channel had 1.478 million and HGTV had 1.477 million.
ABC “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir’s decision to take a vacation week gave an opening for NBC’s Lester Holt to be sampled during his second week as the new “Nightly News” anchor. The NBC telecast averaged 8.4 million viewers last week, ABC had 7.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.7 million.
For the week of June 29-July 5, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.74 million; “World Cup Post-Game Show,” Fox, 10.16 million; “Zoo,” CBS, 8.18 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 7.68 million; “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 7.11 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.86 million; “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 6.8 million; “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 6.72 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 6.67 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 6.28 million.
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for June 29-July 5. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 10.74 million.
2. “World Cup Post-Game Show,” Fox, 10.16 million.
3. “Zoo,” CBS, 8.18 million.
4. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.68 million.
5. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 7.11 million.
6. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.86 million.
7. “American Ninja Warrior,” NBC, 6.8 million.
8. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 6.72 million.
9. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 6.67 million.
10. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 6.28 million.
11. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 6.22 million.
12. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 5.87 million.
13. “Big Brother” (Thursday), CBS, 5.77 million.
14. “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 5.72 million.
15. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 5.46 million.
16. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 5.44 million.
17. “Under the Dome,” CBS, 5.277 million.
18. “Extant,” CBS, 5.275 million.
19. “Mom,” CBS, 5.15 million.
20. “I Can Do That,” NBC, 5.07 million.
Object & Animal Signs Director Alana O’Herlihy To Its Global Roster
Object & Animal has added multidisciplinary artist, photographer and director Alana O’Herlihy to its roster for exclusive worldwide representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. This marks the first production house representation for O’Herlihy. Her portfolio encompasses a wide range of visual artistry, from directing films and music videos to creating photographic stills. Known for a unique blend of analog and digital mediums, O’Herlihy’s work includes leading brands and top-tier magazines, where her vision consistently sparks conversation and brings heightened visibility to her subjects. Her glamorous, campy style pushes the boundaries of conventional artistry. Among her notable directorial credits is the Miley Cyrus music video “Prisoner” featuring Dua Lipa. “Alana’s ability to seamlessly merge old mediums with cutting-edge processes is a testament to her boundless creativity,” said Emi Stewart, executive producer at Object & Animal. “Her work challenges conventions while celebrating the visual grandeur of both past and present.” Object & Animal maintains offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Read More