The continuing NCAA basketball tournament and a roster heavy on its just-renewed reality shows helped CBS score big Sunday, claiming the top five slots in the 18-49 demographic and showing solid growth from last week, according to preliminary numbers.
CBS's primetime schedule was bumped back due to the NCAA championships, which combined with "60 Minutes" to win the 7 p.m. slot with a 4.6 rating /15 share in the demographic and 16.6 million total viewers. The 7:30 slot, occupied by "60 Minutes," drew a 2.9/9 in the demo — an improvement over last week's 1.9/6 — and 14.4 million total viewers.
The continuation of "60 Minutes" and the beginning of "The Amazing Race" at 8 drew a 3.1/9 in the demo, as did the 8:30 continuation of "Amazing Race." (CBS drew 13 million total viewers in the 8 slot, and 10.3 million in the 8:30 slot.) At 9, the conclusion of "The Amazing Race" and the start of "Undercover Boss" drew a 3.2/8 in the demo. The conclusion of "Undercover Boss" and the beginning of "CSI: Miami" at 10 p.m. garnered a 3.0/8 in the demo, flat with last week's performance, and 12 million total viewers, while the "CSI: Miami" continuation at 10:30 drew a 2.8/7 in the demo — up slightly from last week's 2.5/7 — and 10.9 million total viewers.
"The Simpsons" at 8 drew a 2.8/8 among adults 18-49, up 12 percent from its last original episode on March 13, and 6.1 million total viewers. "Bob's Burgers" at 8:30 was flat in the demo, drawing a 2.2/6, and 4.6 million total viewers. A repeat of "Family Guy" at 9 scored a 2.8/7 in the demo, while 9:30's new episode of "American Dad" gathered a 2.5/7 in the demo and 5 million total viewers. It was up 25 percent from its last original airing.
Also read: 'Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss' Renewed
NBC's Sunday night slate began with a repeat of "Dateline" at 7, which drew a 0.6/2 in the demo. The following hour's "America's Next Great Restaurant" pulled a 1.3/4 with adults 18-49, and 3.7 million total viewers. The two-hour episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" at 9 was up 7 percent in the demo from last week with 3.0/8 and 8.5 million total viewers.
On ABC, "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7 drew a 1.6/5 in the demo — a 6 percent decrease from its last original airing on March 13 — and 7.5 million total viewers. "Secret Millionaire" at 8 pulled a 2.7/8 in the demo — up from last week's 2.4/7 — and 10.5 million total viewers. A "Desperate Housewives" repeat at 9 drew a 0.9/2 in the demo and 4 million total viewers, and a rerun of "Brothers & Sisters" the following hour had a 0.6/2 in the demo with 2.7 million total viewers.