Nick’s ‘iCarly’ Is Most-Watched Show In Cable Sports and Entertainment

The hour-long iDate a Bad Boy special of Nickelodeon’s iCarly May 9 was basic cable’s top overall show in sports and entertainment programming, drawing 6.5 million viewers. That beat out even NBA playoff basketball between the Lakers and Rockets on TNT May 6.

The show posted triple-digit gains in every demo against Nick’s time period average and direct competition from other networks. Among kids 2-11 the show earned a 9.5 rating with 3.3 million viewers, a 164% increase in rating and 174% over last year’s time period on Nick. The show averaged a 12.9 among kids 6-11, a 187% increase year-to-year.

The high ratings for iCarly, combined with strong SpongeBob telecasts, made Nickelodeon the top-ranked basic cable network for the week among kids, tweens and total viewers +2. The top five telecasts on the network averaged 2.1 million viewers.