TV Ratings: NCAA action helps CBS to elite Sunday win

The cast of 'Cold Case'

Credit: CBS

Fast National ratings for Sunday, March 29, 2009.

CBS' NCAA Tournament coverage, specifically the tail-end of the Elite Eight, extended into Sunday programming and gave the network the boost it needed to win the night in most key measures.

Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 3.1 rating, beating ABC's 2.8 rating, FOX's 2.6 rating and the 2.5 rating for NBC in the key demo. The CW's 0.4 rating trailed.

Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 12.1 million primetime viewers to go with a 7.5 rating/12 share. ABC was comfortably back in second with a 5.5/9. NBC's 4.9/8 was good for third, followed by the 3.2/5 for FOX. The CW's 0.8/1 trailed.

NCAA overrun plus "60 Minutes" gave CBS an 8.4/15 in the 7 p.m. hour. "Dateline NBC" was second with a 5.7/10. ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" took third with a 4.6/8, beating FOX's "American Dad" and "King of the Hill" repeats. The CW's "Jericho" repeat was fifth with a 0.5/1.

CBS stayed on top at 8 p.m. with "60 Minutes" and "The Amazing Race," which averaged a 7.8/12 between them. ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was second, nearly doubling up the 3.7/6 averaged by a new "Simpsons" and a "Simpsons" repeat on FOX. NBC's "Kings" had a 3.0/5 and also finished a distant fourth in the 18-49 demo. The CW's broadcast of "War Games" was fifth.

At 9 p.m. CBS' "The Amazing Race" and "Cold Case" and ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" tied with a 7.2/11. NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" took third, nipping the 4.1/6 for "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on FOX. The CW's movie remained last. 

CBS' "Cold Case" and "The Unit" won the 10 p.m. hour overall with a 6.4/11, beating the 6.2/10 for NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," but a heavy wave of promotion helped NBC's reality show win the hour in the 18-49 demo with ease. ABC's "Desperate Housewives" trailed.

All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change, particularly in the case of live events.

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor

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A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.