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Ratings Watch: ‘Descendants 2,’ ‘Phelps vs. Shark’ Made Waves Last Week

Week ending July 23: "Game of Thrones" and "America's Got Talent" once again battle for the top spots among total viewers and adults 18-49.

Jul 28, 2017 7:47 pm

Michael Phelps of Usa Competes During the Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Race of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Swimming Events at Olympic Aquatics Stadium at the Olympic Park in Rio De Janeiro Brazil 13 August 2016 Brazil Rio De JaneiroBrazil Rio 2016 Olympic Games - Aug 2016

Michael Phelps

Thissen/Epa/REX/Shutterstock

Controversy be damned, Discovery’s “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White” took a bite out of the competition.

The special because Discovery’s highest-rated Shark Week telecast ever across adults 25-54, women 25-54, and women 18-49, and was last Sunday’s No. 1 basic cable show in primetime in the key adults 18-49 demo. Discovery’s “Shark-Croc Showdown” also made it into the week’s top 25 telecasts among adults 18-49.

Disney Channel also had reason to crow last week, as the premiere of “Descendants 2” on July 21 averaged 8.6 million viewers on Disney Channel alone after three days worth of DVR usage. The telecast was simulcast on ABC, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Freeform, Lifetime and Lifetime Movies, and Disney said it ultimately reached 21 million total viewers via various platforms.

Disney also reports that “Descendants 2” was the No. 1 cable TV telecast among all major youth demographics since the original “Descendants” premiered in 2015.

Overall, “America’s Got Talent” once again led the total viewers race, while “Game of Thrones,” as usual, dominated adults 18-49 for the week ending July 23. Other big premieres of the week: HBO’s “Ballers” opened with a strong 1.6 rating, while MTV’s “Teen Mom II” Season 8 was back with a 1.5.

Here are this week’s rankers:

Total viewers ranker, week ending July 23, 2017:

RANK

SHOW & NETWORK

LIVE+3
DAYS
DVR/VOD

WATCHED
LIVE/
SAME
DAY

1

America’s Got Talent NBC

14.95

12.57

2

Game of Thrones HBO

11.66

9.28

3

World of Dance NBC

  8.61

6.91

4

Descendants 2 Disney Channel

8.58

5.33

5

60 Minutes CBS

  7.56

7.36

6

The Bachelorette ABC

7.47

6.22

7

Big Brother (Wednesday) CBS

7.41

6.19

8

Big Brother (Thursday) CBS

7.39

5.96

9

Big Brother (Sunday) CBS

7.25

5.99

10

Big Brother (Friday) CBS

6.94

5.45 

11

The Big Bang Theory CBS

6.78

6.49

12

NCIS CBS

6.72

6.49

13

Celebrity Family Feud ABC

6.56

6.02
14

American Ninja Warrior NBC

6.51

5.78

15

Little Big Shots: Forever Young NBC

6.24

5.82

16

Bull CBS

5.63

5.36

17

Night Shift NBC

5.57

4.23

18

The Wall NBC

5.48

4.95

19

Salvation CBS

5.43

4.28

20

Dateline Friday NBC

5.29

4.62

21

Phelps vs. Shark Discovery

5.20

4.78

22

$100,000 Pyramid ABC

4.74

4.28

23

Life in Pieces CBS

4.55

4.46

24

Criminal Minds CBS

4.46

4.14

25

Steve Harvey’s Funderdome ABC

Masterchef Fox

4.45

4.45

4.26

3.45
Total viewers; in millions

Adults 18-49 ranker, week ending July 23, 2017:

RANK

SHOW & NETWORK

LIVE+3
DAYS
DVR/VOD

RATING

WATCHED
LIVE/
SAME
DAY

RATING

1

Game of Thrones HBO 

5.4

4.3

2

America’s Got Talent (Tuesday) NBC

3.1

2.5

3

Big Brother (Thursday)  CBS

  2.5

1.9

4

Big Brother (Wednesday) CBS

2.4

1.9

5

Big Brother (Sunday) CBS

2.3

1.8

6

The Bachelorette  ABC 

Big Brother (Friday) CBS

World Of Dance NBC

2.1

2.1

2.1

1.6

1.5

1.6

9

Phelps vs. Shark Discovery 

2.0

1.9

10

Descendents 2 Disney Channel 

1.9

1.2

11

Love & Hip Hop Atlanta 6 VH1 

1.8

1.4

12

American Ninja Warrior NBC

1.7

1.5

13

Ballers HBO 

1.6

1.2

14

Teen Mom II Season 8 HBO

1.5

0.8

15

Masterchef Fox

Copa Oro 2017 22 Univision

1.4

1.4

1.1

1.4

17

Shark-Croc Showdown Discovery

Copa Oro 2017 24 Univision

Basketball Wives 6 VH1

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.3

1.1

20

Celebrity Family Feud ABC

Real Housewives of OC Bravo

The Big Bang Theory CBS

The Wall NBC

Spartan: Team Challenge NBC

WWE Raw (8 p.m.) USA

WWE Raw (9 p.m.) USA

WWE Raw (10 p.m.) USA

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.2

1.1

0.6 

1.1

1.1

1.0

1.1

1.1

1.0
Adults 18-49; ratings points

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