CBS’ interview special Oprah With Meghan and Harry delivered a big audience Sunday night.
The two-hour special, produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, averaged 17.81 million viewers in Sunday’s final same-day ratings — adjusting up from 17.14 million in Nielsen’s fast national numbers. Aside from the post-Super Bowl premiere of The Equalizer on Feb. 7, that’s the biggest audience for any non-sports program on the broadcast networks this season. It earned a 2.72 rating in the key ad demographic of adults 18-49, trailing only a Thanksgiving night episode of The Masked Singer (which had a huge NFL lead-in) on the broadcast nets this season.
Oprah With Meghan and Harry — which incited furious reactions in the British press Monday — was far and away the top show on TV Sunday by any measure. The closest show on the broadcast networks in total viewers was its lead-in, 60 Minutes, which drew about 10.04 million viewers; the newsmagazine and ABC’s American Idol tied for second place in adults 18-49 with 0.8 ratings. The special also dominated among adults 18-34 and 25-54.
The NBA All-Star game, simulcast on TNT and TBS, was the top show on cable by a wide margin — but also was down a good amount from last year. The game averaged 5.94 million viewers on the two channels, down about 19 percent from 7.3 million in 2020. It scored a 2.36 in the 18-49 demo and led Sunday among adults 18-34, where its 1.92 rating beat out the 1.57 for Oprah With Meghan and Harry.
Prior to the game, TNT and TBS’ coverage of the NBA three-point and slam dunk contests averaged 4.26 million viewers. That’s off by 16.5 percent vs. the 5.1 million who watched last year’s events (which typically have their own showcase on the Saturday before the All-Star game).
Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.
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March 9, 7:25 a.m. Updated with final Sunday ratings.
