Ratings Watch: America’s Got Talent, Game of Thrones Win First Full Week of the Summer

Just like it did last year, the return of NBC’s America’s Got Talent kicked off the first official week of TV’s summer months by winning the week. AGT averaged 13.1 million viewers when three days’ worth of DVR and video-on-demand viewership is included.

That’s down just a touch from last year’s 13.7 million. But interestingly, more viewers watched AGT on a time-shifted basis this year than last. This year, Live+3 ratings added 2 million more viewers to the tally; last year, it was 1.7 million.

Meanwhile, HBO’s Game of Thrones continues its reign as the pay cabler’s most unstoppable force. Even though HBO is available in a fraction of homes vs. broadcast TV and basic cable networks, GOT was the week’s second-most watched telecast, averaging 9.4 million. (That’s up from last year, when the week’s episode averaged 9.1 million).

It was also a decent week for reality newcomers, as CBS’ The Briefcase, NBC’s I Can Do That and ABC’s 500 Questions all made it into the top 25.

Among the week’s other series premieres, History’s Texas Rising averaged 5 million viewers, tied for 36th place with 20/20 and the May 26 episode of 500 Questions.

Here are the top 25 shows (including Live+3 DVR and VOD data) for the week ending May 31: