TV networks gave viewers few holiday distractions last week

NEW YORK – The nation’s birthday week was observed by the networks mostly by scripted repeats along with reality and game shows.

Nielsen reports that NBC’s “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” special cracked the Top 20, but the most-watched prime-time shows were CBS’ “60 Minutes” rerun and, in second place, a “Big Bang Theory” repeat.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts, with NBC’s “Nightly News” close behind.

Fox News Channel was the week’s most popular cable network.