Well, that was dramatic. Who said this year’s March Madness tournament was lame?
CBS topped Sunday comfortably with its coverage to that instant-classic Carolina-Kentucky finish. Luke Maye won the NCAA Tournament game for UNC on a last-second jumper, booking the Tar Heels’ trip to the Final Four. His winning shot followed an equally dramatic game-tying three-pointer by the Wildcats’ Malik Monk.
Due to the nature of live sports, CBS’ Nielsen numbers may be subject to adjustment. The network’s regular primetime was delayed 34 minutes in the Eastern and Central timezones due to the NCAA Tournament overrun, so take the below numbers with a bit of a grain of salt (especially “60 Minutes”).
CBS was first in ratings with a 2.1 rating/8 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 11.9 million, according to preliminary numbers. The regular “60 Minutes” time slot at 7 p.m. scored a 4.2/16 and 17.9 million viewers. “NCIS: Los Angeles” at 8 benefitted from its particularly strong lead-in, landing a 2.0/7 and 13 million viewers. At 9, “Madam Secretary” put up a 1.3/4 and 10.1 million viewers. “Elementary” at 10 finished prime with a 0.9/3 and 6.7 million viewers.
NBC was second in ratings with a 1.1/4 and in viewers with 6 million. Following a rerun, “Little Big Shots” at 8 posted a 1.7/6 and 9.7 million viewers. At 9, “Chicago Justice” had a 1.0/3 and 5.8 million viewers. “Shades of Blue” at 10 managed a 0.8/3 and 4.4 million viewers.
Fox was third in ratings with a 0.8/3 and fourth in viewers with 1.9 million. Following a rerun, “Bob’s Burgers” at 7:30 got a 0.8/3 and 1.8 million viewers. A second episode at 8 rose to a 0.9/3 and 1.9 million viewers. At 8:30, “Making History” settled for a 0.7/3 and 1.6 million viewers. “Family Guy” at 9 received a 1.1/4 and 2.4 million viewers.
ABC was fourth in ratings with a 0.7/2 and third in viewers with 3 million. Following a repeat, “Once Upon a Time” at 8 had a 0.9/3 and 2.9 million viewers. At 9, “Time After Time” got a 0.4/1 and 1.9 million viewers. “American Crime” at 10 could only muster a 0.3/1 and 1.6 million viewers.
Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.5/2 and in viewers with 1.3 million.
Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 1.1 million.