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Friday Ratings: CBS Earns Overall Lead with NCAA March Madness

© by Photo courtesy of USA Today

Friday, March 18, 2022
Fast Affiliate Data (time period based)

Total Viewers:
CBS: 3.61 million, NBC: 2.74, ABC: 2.70, Fox: 2.04, CW: 421,000

Adults 18-49:
CBS: 0.8 rating/7 share, Fox: 0.5/ 4, ABC: 0.3/ 3, NBC: 0.3/ 2, CW: 0.1/ 1

Second day coverage of the first round of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament (March Madness) gave CBS a Friday night victory. The 8-10 p.m. portion of Duke-Cal State Fullerton averaged 3.38 million viewers and a 0.7 rating/6 share in adults 18-49. The 10-11 p.m. portion of Michigan-Davidson drew 4.07 million viewers and a 1.1 rating/9 share in adults 18-49. Keep in mind that results for any live sports are always approximate, and six other tournament games were airing on TBS, TNT and truTV; the networks of ESPN televised the first round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament.

The other four broadcast networks aired original programming on the night. The most-watched non-basketball offering, in total viewers, was ABC’s “Shark Tank” (3.29 million). Fox’s “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” topped ABC and NBC in adults 18-49 (averages listed above).

NBC started its night with “The Blacklist” (Viewers: #3, 2.59 million; A18-49: #4, 0.2/ 2 at 8-9 p.m.) followed by “Dateline” (Viewers: #2, 2.81 million; A18-49: #3, 0.3/ 3 at 9-11 p.m.). “Dateline” eked by ABC’s “20/20” (Viewers: #3, 2.41 million; A18-49: #4, 0.3/ 2 at 9-11 p.m.) to be the night’s top newsmagazine.

The CW duo of “Charmed” (Viewers: #5, 0.53 million; A18-49: #5, 0.1/ 1 at 8-9 p.m.) and “Dynasty” (Viewers: #5, 0.31 million; A18-49: #5, 0.1/ 1 at 9-10 p.m.) each performed at their respective normal levels.

UPDATED 3/27/2022: What follows are the Live + Seven Day rating results for the night’s network telecasts on Friday, March 18:

Shark Tank (ABC)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 3.434 million viewers, 0.48 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 4.096 million viewers, 0.64 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 4.217 million viewers, 0.67 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.783 million viewers (+23%), +0.19 adults 18-49 rating (+40%)

20/20 (ABC)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 2.415 million viewers, 0.27 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 3.129 million viewers, 0.40 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 3.266 million viewers, 0.44 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.851 million viewers (+35%), +0.16 adults 18-49 rating (+59%)

NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament (S) (CBS, 7:00)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 3.497 million viewers, 0.77 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 3.501 million viewers, 0.77 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 3.502 million viewers, 0.77 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.005 million viewers (+0%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+0%)

NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament Bridge (S) (CBS)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 3.058 million viewers, 0.67 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 3.062 million viewers, 0.67 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 3.062 million viewers, 0.67 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.004 million viewers (+0%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+0%)

NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament (S) (CBS, 10:00)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 4.957 million viewers, 1.38 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 4.982 million viewers, 1.38 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 4.983 million viewers, 1.38 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.026 million viewers (+1%), +0.00 adults 18-49 rating (+0%)

The Blacklist (NBC)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 2.628 million viewers, 0.23 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 3.993 million viewers, 0.39 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 4.368 million viewers, 0.45 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +1.740 million viewers (+66%), +0.22 adults 18-49 rating (+94%)

Dateline Friday (NBC)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 2.936 million viewers, 0.35 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 3.814 million viewers, 0.49 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 3.990 million viewers, 0.53 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +1.054 million viewers (+36%), +0.18 adults 18-49 rating (+51%)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (Fox)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 2.129 million viewers, 0.57 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 2.396 million viewers, 0.66 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 2.435 million viewers, 0.67 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.306 million viewers (+14%), +0.09 adults 18-49 rating (+17%)

Charmed (CW)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.453 million viewers, 0.09 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 0.665 million viewers, 0.14 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.761 million viewers, 0.17 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.308 million viewers (+68%), +0.08 adults 18-49 rating (+92%)

Dynasty (CW)
• Updated Live+Same Day: 0.277 million viewers, 0.06 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+3: 0.381 million viewers, 0.08 adults 18-49 rating
• Live+7: 0.395 million viewers, 0.09 adults 18-49 rating
• Gains: +0.118 million viewers (+43%), +0.03 adults 18-49 rating (+45%)

Source: Nielsen Media Research

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