• by Wayne Friedman , June 26, 2018

ABC has started the first month of the summer TV season with the best results among broadcast networks -- in terms of viewership and program-specific unit advertising pricing.

ABC is tops in total average viewers at a Nielsen 5.05 million viewers, looking at the period from May 28 through June 24. ABC received a boost from its big NBA Finals programming, as well as “The Bachelorette.”

NBC and CBS are virtually tied for second place, with 4.86 million and 4.83 million, respectively. Fox is at 2.3 million average for the first month of summer TV programming.

ABC also leads in key demographics -- 18-49 and 25-54 viewers. Among 18-49 viewers, ABC is at a 1.3 rating 6 share followed by NBC with 1.1/5; and CBS and Fox each have a 0.6/3. Among 25-54 viewers, ABC has a 1.6/6, while NBC is at 1.4/5, CBS has 0.9/3, and Fox has a 0.8/3.

For the most recent week ending June 24, CBS gained the top spot with 4.3 million overall viewers, followed by NBC with 4.1 million, ABC at 3.4 million and Fox with 3.1 million. NBC leads among 18-49 viewers with a 0.8/4, followed by ABC at 0.7/3, Fox with 0.6/3 and CBS at 0.5/2.

According to SQAD, the advertising research company, ABC has also posted top results this summer for “The Bachelorette” in terms of 30-second unit pricing -- from a low of $248,065 to a high of $295,401. These are average costs for programs’ premiere episodes.

In early June, ABC grabbed top pricing for the NBA Finals, which resulted in a four-game series. Game One witnessed unit pricing of $690,909 to $829,577 -- a big jump from the $454,276 to $542,708 range last year.

Concerning other summer entertainment programming, NBC scored big results -- second-highest to fourth-highest priced shows — with “America’s Got Talent,” $222,868 to $265,396; “World of Dance,” $167,745 to $199,755; and “American Ninja Warrior,” $149,304 to $177,794.

Fox was next with “MasterChef” at $111,842 to $133,183, followed by ABC’s “Celebrity Family Feud” at $89,647 to $106,753; Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” with $83,585 to $99,535; CBS’ “Big Brother” at $80,995 to $96,451; and CBS’ “Undercover Boss” with $61,998 to $73,828.