Monday Ratings: NCAA Basketball Soars on CBS

Monday 4/05/21 Preliminary Primetime Ratings  

Total Viewers:
CBS: 10.58 million, NBC: 4.73, ABC: 3.78, Fox: 2.00, CW: 516,000

Adults 18-49:
CBS: 2.4 rating/15 share, NBC: 0.6/ 4, ABC: 0.5/ 3, Fox: 0.3/ 2, CW: 0.1/ 1

The still potential power of network television was visible on CBS care of its coverage of the Men’s National Championship Game on NCAA Basketball, which averaged an estimated 12.88 million viewers and a 3.0 rating/19 share in adults 18-49 from 9-11 p.m. ET. As a reminder, results for any live sporting event are always approximate.

Final Nationals Updated @ 6:13 p.m. ET:

NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship: Baylor vs. Gonzaga (S) (CBS, 9:20 PM)
258 affiliates; 78% coverage
• 16.923 million viewers (lowest mark for NCAA national championship ever on CBS)
• 9.4/21 HH
• 4.1/26 A18-49 (3.1/20 F18-49, 5.1/33 M18-49)
• 3.1/30 A18-34 (2.5/23 F18-34, 3.8/28 M18-34)
• 5.1/25 A25-54 (3.9/18 F25-54, 6.4/32 M25-54)

In the 8-10 p.m. ET battle of the singing competitions, NBC’s “The Voice” (Viewers: #2, 5.84 million; A18-49: #2, 0.8/ 5) had a noticeable advantage over “American Idol” on ABC (Viewers: #3, 4.51 million; A18-49: #3, 0.6/ 4). The arrival of Ariana Grande on “The Voice” next fall, no doubt, will add interest to the veteran competition.

Also on NBC was recent Monday 10 p.m. drama “Debris”, which squandered the lead-in support from “The Voice” with just 2.52 million viewers (#2) and a 0.4/ 2 in the demo (#2) at 10 p.m. ABC’s competing “The Good Doctor” was a repeat.

Elsewhere, the recent revival of “America’s Most Wanted” on Fox (Viewers: #4: 1.86 million; A18-49: #4, 0.3/ 2 at 9 p.m.) did not benefit out of a repeat of “9-1-1” and opposite basketball on CBS. And The CW was in repeats.

Source: Nielsen Media Research