Welcome to our weekly snapshot of TV by the numbers, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks for May 1-7, with insights from Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

It was a big week for sports, with various leagues and related programming snagging seven of the top 25 spots in the show ranking. NBA playoff action continues to be a slam dunk, with games accounting for 5.07% of all minutes watched during the week, an increase from the previous week’s 4.50%. 

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• NHL moves into second place with 1.17% of watch-time, while MLB steals fourth, up from No. 13 previously, with 0.88% viewership share. 

• The 149th Kentucky Derby raced into sixth place with 0.81% of minutes watched — more insights on that plus the coronation of King Charles III here.

• USFL (which in case you aren’t familiar is a professional football minor league that first kicked off in 2022) squeaks into the ranking at No. 24 with its week four games capturing 0.41% of watch-time. This is the first time this season that it’s made the top 25.  

• Other week-over-week ranking newcomers include CNN News Central (No. 21), ABC World News Tonight With David Muir (No. 23) and Chicago P.D. (No. 25). 

Notably, the network ranking did not see drastic change: 13 networks retained their positions week-over-week — although that doesn’t mean the watch-time remained the same. ABC, which held steady in first place, accounted for 7.45% of all minutes watched, a slight decrease from the previous week’s 7.49%. 

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from May 1-7:

• NBC moves into second place with 7.12% viewership share, an increase from 6.08% last week. News programming including coverage of King Charles III’s coronation, the Kentucky Derby and USFL games contributed to its watch-time. 

• The networks in the No. 4-10 positions held steady, but saw some variance in viewership share week-over-week: Fox News Channel, ESPN and Fox all saw slight increases compared to the previous week, while TNT, ION and HGTV had decreases in watch-time. MSNBC was flat at 1.87% week-over-week. 

• Meanwhile, CNN and Investigation Discovery also had an increase in minutes watched but maintain their ranking positions. Conversely, USA and Food Network stay steady but had viewership share decreases compared to the previous week. 

• There are no week-over-week ranking newcomers. While not unheard of, we usually see at least one new network a week.