Brian Damage
06-10-2004, 11:01 AM
NEW YORK -- Tony Soprano and his family put a hit on Hugh Jackman and the Tony Awards. But the National Basketball Association slam-dunked them both.
The first game of the NBA Finals on Sunday, when the Pistons surprised the favored Lakers, was the most popular show on prime-time television last week, according to Nielsen Media Research.
That came despite competition from HBO's season finale of ''The Sopranos,'' where Tony quelled a growing revolt in the ranks by gunning down his cousin. The drama was seen by 11 million viewers, Nielsen said.
At the same time, the Tony Awards -- with Jackman as host -- drew 6.5 million viewers, the smallest audience ever for Broadway's biggest night.
''The Sopranos'' numbers were down from the 12.5 million figure for the fourth season's end, Nielsen said. HBO attributes the drop entirely to a difference in Nielsen methodology: Last year's number included people who were watching every HBO network, like HBO Family or HBO2, in the time slot, while this year's figure measured just the main network.
Still, it means nearly one-third of people who subscribe to HBO were watching ''The Sopranos'' finale.
The season finale finished behind the March 7 debut's 12.1 million. Overall, the series averaged 9.8 million viewers, below the record 11 million for Season 4 (fall 2002) but ahead of the 9 million in 2001.
The drama's last, 10-episode season won't be on the air for 15 to 18 months, said David Baldwin, a top HBO programming executive. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2005.
In the meantime, HBO is growing a new generation of shows, Baldwin said. ''Deadwood,'' which immediately followed ''The Sopranos'' on Sunday, had only 4.3 million viewers.
Normally, network executives would be alarmed at such a large tune-out after a hit show. But Baldwin said HBO was pleased with the ratings of the freshman drama.
A ratings point represents 1,084,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 108.4 million TV homes.
The first game of the NBA Finals on Sunday, when the Pistons surprised the favored Lakers, was the most popular show on prime-time television last week, according to Nielsen Media Research.
That came despite competition from HBO's season finale of ''The Sopranos,'' where Tony quelled a growing revolt in the ranks by gunning down his cousin. The drama was seen by 11 million viewers, Nielsen said.
At the same time, the Tony Awards -- with Jackman as host -- drew 6.5 million viewers, the smallest audience ever for Broadway's biggest night.
''The Sopranos'' numbers were down from the 12.5 million figure for the fourth season's end, Nielsen said. HBO attributes the drop entirely to a difference in Nielsen methodology: Last year's number included people who were watching every HBO network, like HBO Family or HBO2, in the time slot, while this year's figure measured just the main network.
Still, it means nearly one-third of people who subscribe to HBO were watching ''The Sopranos'' finale.
The season finale finished behind the March 7 debut's 12.1 million. Overall, the series averaged 9.8 million viewers, below the record 11 million for Season 4 (fall 2002) but ahead of the 9 million in 2001.
The drama's last, 10-episode season won't be on the air for 15 to 18 months, said David Baldwin, a top HBO programming executive. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2005.
In the meantime, HBO is growing a new generation of shows, Baldwin said. ''Deadwood,'' which immediately followed ''The Sopranos'' on Sunday, had only 4.3 million viewers.
Normally, network executives would be alarmed at such a large tune-out after a hit show. But Baldwin said HBO was pleased with the ratings of the freshman drama.
A ratings point represents 1,084,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 108.4 million TV homes.