Did Donald Trump calling off his presidential run — at least for now — help deflate ratings for "Celebrity Apprentice"?
Sunday's season finale of "The Celebrity Apprentice" dropped significantly in the ratings compared to the show's last season ender, while "The Billboard Music Awards," which returned after being dormant for several years, experienced a slight uptick from its last broadcast, according to preliminary numbers.
Also read: "Celebrity Apprentice: Donald Trump Picks John Rich"
NBC's Sunday evening started with "Dateline" at 7 garnering a 1.3 rating/4 share in the adults 18-49 demo, a 30 percent leap compared to last week's performance, and 5 million total viewers. "Minute to Win It" the following hour jumped 33 percent from last week's episode to earn a 1.2/3 in the demo and 4.1 million total viewers.
The two-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" finale at 9, while up 16 percent over last week's numbers, dropped 15 percent from the show's last season finale, scoring a 2.9/7 in the demo and 8.3 million total viewers. The ratings performance marked the poorest showing for a spring finale that the series has ever experienced.
ABC's evening was a mixed bag, with "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7 kicking off the evening with a 1.5/5 in the demo, down 17 percent from last week, and 6.1 million total viewers. The return of "Billboard Music Awards" from 8 to 11, meanwhile, was up 7 percent from its last telecast in December 2006, garnering a 2.9/8 in the demo and 7.8 million total viewers.
At CBS, "60 Minutes" at 7 was down 12 percent compared to last week with a 1.5./5 in the demo and 10.2 million total viewers, while a second episode the following hour took a 1.5/4 in the demo and 10.8 million total viewers. The Tom Selleck telefilm "Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost" from 9-11 closed out the evening with a 1.3/3 in the demo and 13.7 million total viewers.
Fox's evening kicked off with a repeat of "The Simpsons" at 7, which took a 1.1/4 in the demo and 2.6 million total viewers, while the "American Dad" finale at 7:30 garnered a 1.6/5 in the demo and 3.5 million total viewers. The "Simpsons" season finale at 8 was flat with last season's ender, taking a 2.5/7 in the demo and 5.2 million total viewers, while "Bob's Burgers" closed out its season with a 5 percent dip from last week's performance, taking a 2.1/6 in the demo and 4.2 million total viewers. The one-hour "Family Guy" season finale, while taking the evening's top slot, was also down, slipping 3 percent from last year's capper with a 3.0/7 in the demo and 5.8 million total viewers.