Basketball took center stage on Wednesday, with ESPN’s broadcast of the LA Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers game leading the pack at a 1.4 rating among adults in the 18-49 demographic. The Oklahoma City Thunder game against the Golden State Warriors followed suit with a 1.2 rating, and ESPN’s tip-off show “NBA Courtside” was close behind with 0.9. In fact, ESPN held the entire top 7 slots of the night.
Outside sports, it was mostly a case of series maintaining their ratings, even as their ranking was displaced by basketball. “Forged in Fire” on the History Channel stood its ground at a 0.3, as did “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” on Bravo with 0.4. “Shattered” on Investigation Discovery shared the same 0.4 rating, also maintaining its spot from the previous week.
Top 25 original cable shows among adults 18-49 for Wednesday, November 21, 2018
| Show | Net | Time | Total viewers (000s) | 18-49 rating |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON – LA LAKERS/CLEVELAND | ESPN | 8:12 PM | 3,690 | 1.4 |
| NBA REGULAR SEASON – OKLAHOMA CITY/GOLDEN STATE | ESPN | 10:43 PM | 2,890 | 1.2 |
| NBA COURTSIDE | ESPN | 8:00 PM | 2,434 | 0.9 |
| NBA AFTER THE BUZZER | ESPN | 12:56 AM | 1,925 | 0.8 |
| COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON – DUKE/GONZAGA | ESPN | 5:00 PM | 2,296 | 0.7 |
| NBA PRE-GAME | ESPN | 7:12 PM | 1,773 | 0.7 |
| SPORTSCENTER 1AM | ESPN | 1:11 AM | 1,345 | 0.6 |
| HALLMARK ORIGINAL MOVIE: REUNITED AT CHRISTMAS | HALLMARK | 8:00 PM | 2,958 | 0.5 |
| SPORTSCENTER MORNING | ESPN | 2:00 AM | 911 | 0.4 |
| REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NJ | BRAVO | 9:00 PM | 923 | 0.4 |
| FORGED IN FIRE | HISTORY | 9:00 PM | 1,148 | 0.3 |
| PAW PATROL | NICKELODEON | 12:00 PM | 1,407 | 0.3 |
| GREENLEAF | OPRAH | 10:00 PM | 1,287 | 0.3 |
| SHATTERED | INVESTIGATION | 10:00 PM | 1,158 | 0.3 |
| HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL | HOME | 10:30 PM | 1,370 | 0.3 |
| HOUSE HUNTERS | HOME | 10:00 PM | 1,338 | 0.3 |
| PROP BROS: BUY AND SELL | HOME | 9:00 PM | 1,412 | 0.2 |
| BUTTERBEANS CAFE | NICKELODEON | 12:30 PM | 1,066 | 0.2 |
| TEEN TITANS GO | CARTOON | 6:00 PM | 865 | 0.2 |
| REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DALLAS | BRAVO | 10:00 PM | 629 | 0.2 |
| DOUBLE DARE | NICKELODEON | 8:00 PM | 901 | 0.2 |
| COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD | ESPN | 4:29 PM | 655 | 0.2 |
| FIRST TAKE | ESPN | 10:00 AM | 508 | 0.2 |
| COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON – MARQUETTE/KANSAS | ESPN2 | 7:32 PM | 784 | 0.2 |
| KNIFE OR DEATH | HISTORY | 10:03 PM | 675 | 0.2 |
Source: The Nielsen Company