Steve Harvey’s Kids Show Is A Hit For NBC

NEW YORK (AP) — As news channels filled with pictures from the increasingly boisterous presidential campaign, broadcast viewers turned to the feel-good pairing of Steve Harvey with precocious kids.

NBC’s new series, “Little Big Shots,” led the network to a ratings victory during its first week on the air, the Nielsen company said. The comic Harvey is the host as talented youngsters — a 6-year-old spelling champ, a 4-year-old basketball phenom, a 6-year-old choir conductor — display their abilities.

The second episode of the series to air last week, on Sunday night, was the most-watched program on television with 15 million people. NBC premiered the show Tuesday night after “The Voice,” and it reached 12.8 million viewers.

A repeat of that first show aired Sunday and also finished in Nielsen’s top 20.

NBC averaged 7.3 million viewers in prime time last week. CBS was second with 6.5 million, ABC had 4.7 million, Fox had 3.4 million, Univision had 1.8 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and the CW and Telemundo tied with 1.1 million.

Airing wall-to-wall campaign coverage, two news channels were the top-rated cable networks last week. CNN averaged 2.97 million viewers, Fox News had 2.41 million, HGTV had 1.76 million, AMC had 1.73 million and TBS had 1.72 million.

NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.74 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second with 8.67 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 7.4 million viewers.

The Top 20

Primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for March 7-13. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. “Little Big Shots” (Sunday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 15 million.

2. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.7 million.

3. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 13.54 million.

4. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 13.45 million.

5. “Little Big Shots” (Tuesday), NBC, 12.81 million.

6. “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 12.53 million.

7. Republican Presidential Debate, CNN, 11.81 million.

8. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 9.83 million.

9. “Survivor,” CBS, 9.27 million.

10. “The Voice” (Wednesday), NBC, 9.19 million.

11. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.74 million.

12. “Life in Pieces,” CBS, 8.57 million.

13. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 8.48 million.

14. “NCIS,” CBS, 8.16 million.

15. “American Idol” (Thursday), Fox, 8.06 million.

16. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS, 7.97 million.

17. “Debate Preview,” CNN, 7.91 million.

18. “Mom,” CBS, 7.9 million.

19. “Little Big Shots” (Sunday, 7 p.m.), NBC, 7.59 million.

20. “Grey’s Anatomy,” ABC, 7.53 million.