Jenner Lifts ’20/20′ To Week’s Top Program

NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Jenner’s much-awaited interview on “20/20” lifted the ABC newsmagazine to the week’s top spot last week.

The two-hour broadcast, hosted by Diane Sawyer, centered on Jenner’s acknowledgment that he’s transitioning into a woman. It was seen by 17.1 million viewers.

But not far beyond this “big event” program was CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” a long-dependable hit that drew 14.6 million to take second place, according to the Nielsen company. It was followed by ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and the Tuesday edition of NBC’s “The Voice.”

For the week in primetime, CBS was the champ for the ninth consecutive week, averaging 8.4 million viewers. ABC had 7.4 million viewers, while NBC had 5.5 million, Fox had 3.4 million, Univision had 2.6 million, the CW had 1.6 million, Telemundo had 1.5 million and Ion Television had 1.1 million.

TNT was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.8 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel followed with 1.7 million, and TBS had 1.6 million.

In the evening-news wars, NBC’s “Nightly News” lost to ABC for the fourth straight week after years as ratings leader. ABC’s “World News Tonight” averaged 8.2 million viewers to 8.1 million for “Nightly News” as that newscast, with Lester Holt filling in, continued to suffer from anchor limbo in the wake of Brian Williams’ continuing suspension. “World News Tonight” has logged an 11 percent gain in total viewers over this time last year, while “Nightly” is down 3 percent.

“The CBS Evening News” finished third with 6.8 million viewers last week.

The Top 20

Primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for April 20-26. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. “20/20,” ABC, 17.10 million.

2. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.63 million.

3. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 13.42 million.

4. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.25 million.

5. “Scorpion,” CBS, 10.71 million.

6. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 10.60 million.

7. “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 10.50 million.

8. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.39 million.

9. “NCIS,” CBS, 10.194 million.

10. “Survivor,” CBS, 10.192 million.

11. “Criminal Minds,” CBS, 10.06 million.

12. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.99 million.

13. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 9.96 million

14. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 9.55 million.

15. “The Odd Couple,” CBS, 9.37 million.

16. “Mom,” CBS, 9.01 million.

17. “Modern Family,” ABC, 8.85 million.

18. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 8.83 million.

19. “The Good Wife,” CBS, 8.74 million.

20. “CSI: Cyber,” CBS, 8.42 million.