NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Blue Bloods’ a quiet example of CBS’ power

NEW YORK

Tom Selleck’s cop-family drama “Blue Bloods” is hardly trendy TV, but last week was another illustration of its consistent value to CBS.

The Nielsen company said it was among the 10 most-watched programs. A week after CBS had the 10 most-popular broadcast entrants on Nielsen’s weekly list – a first for any network since at least 2005 – CBS made it 11. Only AMC’s “The Walking Dead” interfered with the network’s dominance.

Selleck plays New York City police commissioner Frank Reagan in “Blue Bloods,” leading a family of law enforcers. The show’s average viewership in its sixth season is 13.1 million, down from a peak of 13.9 million in 2013-14. That’s considered a steady performance at a time people are watching less live television.

The success also is noteworthy since “Blue Bloods” airs Fridays, a night that networks rarely air high-profile programming because they figure many people are out on the town. “Blue Bloods” is the most successful Friday-night series since NBC’s “Law & Order” in 2002-03, Nielsen said.

The Grammy Awards, with just under 25 million viewers, was the most- popular show on the air last week, Nielsen said.

CBS easily won the week in prime time, averaging 10.7 million viewers. ABC had 5.2 million viewers, NBC had 5 million, Fox had 4 million, Univision had 2 million, the CW had 1.6 million, ION Television had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 1.1 million.

Spike Lee endorses Bernie Sanders

Filmmaker Spike Lee is endorsing Bernie Sanders for president in a South Carolina radio ad.

Arguing, in Sanders’ words, that the “system is rigged,” Lee praises Sanders for not taking money from corporations in the ad. And in a reference to one of his early films, Lee says that once in the White House, Sanders “will do the right thing.”

Lee also notes that the Vermont senator participated in the March on Washington and protested segregation in Chicago public schools.

A writer, director and actor, Lee’s films include “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcom X.” His most-recent movie “Chi-Raq” is about gun violence in Chicago.

Associated Press