TV holds viewers’ attention with new series, NBA Finals

NEW YORK — Television hasn’t hit its summer doldrums yet. With a mysterious dome, a high-wire act and climaxes to the NBA season and “The Voice” singing competition, viewers are finding reasons to tune in.

More than 13 million people watched Monday’s premiere of “Under the Dome,” a collaboration between Stephen King and Steven Spielberg on CBS, according to preliminary research by the Nielsen Co.

That represents the biggest summertime drama debut for any broadcast network since CBS aired “2000 Malibu Road” in 1992, Nielsen reported. That’s a strong number for the fall, much less the summer. In “Under the Dome,” a clear dome clamps down over a small town.

The conclusion of a hotly contested NBA Finals between San Antonio and Miami was a winner for ABC. The decisive seventh game, happening after a dramatic overtime finish in Game 6, drew 26.3 million viewers Thursday, Nielsen reported. The sixth game had slightly more than 20 million viewers.

The Finals averaged 17.6 million viewers per game. That’s a higher average than any series since 2004, with the exception of the meeting of old rivals Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

Nik Wallenda’s windy walk over an Arizona canyon on a tightrope brought viewers to Discovery on Sunday night. The 10.7 million people who tuned in by the show’s end represented the mostwatched live event in Discovery’s history, according to Nielsen.

NBC’s “The Voice” had a strong finale. Nielsen reported that 15.6 million people watched the competition’s final night of singing, 31 percent more than the viewership for last year’s ending.

Those last two NBA games helped ABC win the week in prime time, averaging 6.9 million viewers. NBC had 6.7 million viewers, CBS 5.1 million, Univi-