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A solid NCAA
title game, despite it all


Kansas win draws 19.5 million total viewers

Apr 9, 2008
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A thrilling overtime NCAA title game between Memphis and eventual winner Kansas redeemed what was otherwise a down year for men’s basketball’s biggest event, which weathered a series of ratings-sapping blowouts.

Monday night’s title game, which began at 9:15 p.m. and lasted until midnight, averaged 19.5 million total viewers, equaling last year’s Ohio State-Florida game. In a recent era of declining sports ratings, any event that can match the previous year is considered a success.

Among adults 18-49, the game did particularly well, averaging a 7.3 rating. That marked CBS’s best performance for any weekday primetime program since the season premiere of “CSI” posted an 8.2 back in September.

It also marked the third time in six years that the game did not decline versus the previous year. And it came nowhere near matching the all-time worst numbers put up by the Georgia Tech-UConn title game four years ago, which drew just over 17 million.

The tournament itself, however, will finish as one of the lowest-rated ever, barely ahead of the 2003 tourney hurt by preemptions for the Iraq War. Ratings slumped 8 percent among households compared with last year, averaging a 5.6 to 2007’s 6.1.

Thirty-four games in the first through fourth rounds, or more than half of 60 total, were won by 12 points or more, and Saturday’s Final Four games continued that trend.

Kansas’ 84-66 victory over North Carolina Saturday night averaged 14.4 million total viewers, about even to last year’s 14.37 million for Florida and UCLA.

But Saturday’s earlier game between Memphis and the Bruins averaged 11.2 million, down 700,000 from last year, or 6 percent. That game wasn’t close, either, with Memphis winning 78-63.

With blowouts like that defining the tournament, it’s no wonder March Madness built little momentum, despite a strong regular season for college basketball that saw ratings rise over last year on ESPN. Casual fans watching to see how their brackets fared didn’t stay tuned to dull games where the winner was determined before halftime.

By contrast the final was able to draw in viewers because of the close nature of the game. The final half hour of the contest, when Kansas hit a final-seconds 3-pointer to push the game into overtime, posted the night’s highest ratings.

***

Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended April 6:
 
Among adults 18-49, Fox was first with a 3.5 rating and a 10 share, followed by CBS at 3.4/10, ABC at 2.2/6, NBC at 2.0/5, Univision at 1.6/5, CW at 0.8/2, Telemundo at 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV at 0.3/1, TeleFutura at 0.2/1, and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 18-34, Fox was first with a 3.1 rating and a 10 share, followed by CBS at 2.4/7, Univision at 1.9/6, ABC at 1.7/5, NBC at 1.4/4, CW at 0.8/3, Telemundo at 0.4/1, MyNetworkTV and TeleFutura at 0.3/1 and Ion and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Among adults 25-54, CBS was first with a 4.3 rating and a 11 share, followed by Fox at 4.0/10, ABC at 2.7/7, NBC at 2.4/6, Univision at 1.5/4, CW at 0.8/3, Telemundo and MyNetworkTV at 0.4/1, TeleFutura at 0.2/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
 
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 9.6; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 9.4; 3. CBS’s “CSI” 5.9; 4. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 5.5; 5. CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” 5.4.
 
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 26.12 million; 2. Fox’s “American Idol – Wednesday” 24.84 million; 3. CBS’s “CSI” 20.58 million; 4. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” 20.56 million; 5. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars Results” 17.28 million.
 
Top five Live+7 English-language Big Five shows (households, week ended March 23): Fox’s “American Idol – Wednesday” 15.8; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 15.7; 3. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” 13.6; 4. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars 3/18” 11.3; 5. CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” 9.0.
 
Top five Live+7 English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, week ended March 23): 1. Fox’s “American Idol - Tuesday” 11.1; 2. Fox’s “American Idol - Wednesday” 10.3; Tie-3. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” 5.8; 5. ABC’s “Lost” 5.6.
 
Show on the rise: “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” CBS, Monday 9:30 p.m. The “Two and a Half Men” lead-out jumped 18 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-49, from a 3.8 rating to a 4.5.
 
Show on the decline: “Oprah’s Big Give,” ABC, Sunday 9 p.m. Oprah’s other show has faded even further, last week falling to a series-low 3.2 rating among viewers 18-49, off 18 percent from the previous week’s 3.9, in part because it had a rerun of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” as its lead-in.

WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

CBS

7.2

8150

12

4.0

11530

11

3.4

4460

10

FOX

5.9

6610

10

3.4

9620

9

3.5

4630

10

ABC

4.9

5530

8

2.7

7610

7

2.2

2940

6

NBC

4.2

4710

7

2.2

6290

6

2.0

2590

5

UNI

1.9

2140

3

1.3

3760

3

1.6

2130

5

CW

1.4

1580

2

0.8

2150

2

0.8

1100

2

MNT

0.7

750

1

0.3

960

1

0.3

450

1

TEL

0.5

620

1

0.3

990

1

0.4

540

1

ION

0.3

390

1

0.2

510

0

0.1

150

0

TF

0.3

350

1

0.2

550

1

0.2

330

1

AZA

0.1

90

0

0.1

170

0

0.1

100

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research 

 

SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

Network

Households

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

Rtg%

(000)

Shr

FOX

6.7

7560

11

4.0

11390

10

4.3

5650

11

CBS

6.7

7540

11

3.7

10500

9

3.0

3930

8

ABC

5.9

6700

10

3.2

9210

8

3.0

3970

8

NBC

5.4

6040

9

2.9

8410

7

3.0

3870

8

UNI

1.8

2040

3

1.2

3540

3

1.5

1990

4

CW

1.7

1890

3

0.9

2590

2

1.0

1370

3

MNT

0.8

860

1

0.4

1130

1

0.4

550

1

TEL

0.6

650

1

0.4

1050

1

0.4

570

1

ION

0.4

420

1

0.2

550

0

0.1

160

0

TF

0.4

400

1

0.2

660

1

0.3

420

1

AZA

0.1

100

0

0.1

150

0

0.1

100

0

* Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 114 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research 

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

#

PROGRAMS

Net

HOUSEHOLDS

PERSONS 2+

Rtg%

Shr

(000)

#

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

14.8

22

16656

2

8.7

24839

2

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

14.7

23

16617

1

9.1

26117

3

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

13.0

20

14689

3

7.2

20557

4

CSI

CBS

12.4

20

13957

3

7.2

20577

5

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

11.1

17

12559

5

6.0

17282

6

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

10.1

16

11371

6

5.5

15650

7

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

9.7

17

10977

7

5.3

15196

8

CSI: MIAMI - TUESDAY SP(S)

CBS

9.1

15

10293

9

5.0

14230

9

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMP SA-2(S)

CBS

8.8

16

9979

9

5.0

14435

9

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

8.8

13

9925

8

5.1

14504

11

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

8.2

12

9242

11

4.5

12811

11

CSI: NY

CBS

8.2

14

9271

11

4.5

12853

13

OLD CHRISTINE

CBS

8.0

12

9010

14

4.4

12570

14

SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA

CBS

7.4

12

8381

11

4.5

12870

15

COLD CASE

CBS

7.3

11

8253

15

4.2

11927

16

HELL'S KITCHEN

FOX

7.0

11

7911

16

4.1

11849

17

CBS NCAA BSKBL-BRIDGE(S)

CBS

6.8

13

7651

17

3.9

11265

18

60 MINUTES

CBS

6.5

12

7323

19

3.5

9921

18

ABC NEWS SPECIAL-4/1(S)

ABC

6.5

11

7380

24

3.4

9703

18

NCIS

CBS

6.5

10

7335

19

3.5

9971

21

MOMENT OF TRUTH

FOX

6.4

11

7269

19

3.5

10162

22

DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON

NBC

6.3

9

7116

19

3.5

10067

22

MEDIUM

NBC

6.3

10

7084

24

3.4

9649

22

NUMB3RS

CBS

6.3

11

7067

19

3.5

9996

22

SMARTER THAN 5TH 4/3-9P(S)

FOX

6.3

10

7117

18

3.6

10406

Source: Nielsen Media Research

TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending April 6

Rank

Program

Net

Rtg%

(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

1

9.6

2

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

2

9.4

3

CSI

CBS

3

5.9

4

HELL'S KITCHEN

FOX

4

5.5

5

TWO AND A HALF MEN

CBS

5

5.4

6

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHAMP SA-2(S)

CBS

6

5.2

7

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

7

5.1

8

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

8

4.9

9

OLD CHRISTINE

CBS

9

4.5

10

CSI: MIAMI - TUESDAY SP(S)

CBS

10

4.1

10

MOMENT OF TRUTH

FOX

10

4.1

12

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

12

4.0

12

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

CBS

12

4.0

12

SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA

CBS

12

4.0

15

CBS NCAA BSKBL-BRIDGE(S)

CBS

15

3.9

15

WITHOUT A TRACE

CBS

15

3.9

17

CSI: NY

CBS

17

3.6

18

CRIMINAL MINDS

CBS

18

3.4

19

BIGGEST LOSER 5

NBC

19

3.3

20

HERE COME THE NEWLYWEDS

ABC

20

3.2

20

MY NAME IS EARL

NBC

20

3.2

20

OPRAH'S BIG GIVE

ABC

20

3.2

23

BIG BANG THEORY, THE

CBS

23

3.1

23

FAMILY GUY

FOX

23

3.1

23

MEDIUM

NBC

23

3.1

23

SMARTER THAN 5TH 4/3-9P(S)

FOX

23

3.1

Source: Nielsen Media Research

  

SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED)
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+ (000)

1

AL DIABLO CON GUAPOS M-F

UNI

22.1

5050

2

CRISTINA MON

UNI

22.0

4554

3

PASION M-F

UNI

19.5

4321

4

NUESTRA BELLEZA FRI

UNI

17.0

3780

5

DON FRANCISCO PRESENTA WE

UNI

16.7

3390

6

AQUI Y AHORA TUE

UNI

15.5

3185

7

AMAS CASA DESESPERADS THU

UNI

14.6

2642

8

YO AMO JUAN QUERENDON M-F

UNI

14.3

2875

9

PANTERA SUN

UNI

12.8

2706

10

FAMILIA P. LUCHE SUN

UNI

12.4

2477

11

SABADO GIGANTE SAT

UNI

11.7

2173

12

HORA PICO SUN

UNI

10.9

2098

13

VICTORIA M-F

TEL

8.0

1542

14

FAMILIA DE DIEZ SAT

UNI

7.1

1358

15

CHAVO ANIMADO SAT

UNI

6.7

1377

16

PECADOS AJENOS M-F

TEL

5.5

1034

17

12 CORAZONES M-F

TEL

4.4

829

18

CINE DE LAS ESTREL SUN 2

TF

4.2

769

18

TRAICION M-F

TEL

4.2

762

20

OBJETIVO FAMA SUN

TF

3.3

549

21

CINE DE LAS ESTRELLAS M-THU

TF

3.2

656

22

MARAV MUNDO DISNEY 4/6(S)-04/06/2008

TEL

3.1

677

23

CINE MILLONARIO

TEL

2.8

550

24

SOLO BOXEO TECATE FRI

TF

2.6

439

24

QUE DICE LA GENTE M-F

TF

2.6

446

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

HISPANIC ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VIEWING
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 6

#

PROGRAMS

Net

NHTI

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

6.7

1226

2

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

6.1

1078

3

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

5.3

856

4

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

5.0

1009

5

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

4.3

946

5

MOMENT OF TRUTH

FOX

4.3

810

7

CSI

CBS

4.2

801

7

FAMILY GUY

FOX

4.2

728

9

HELL'S KITCHEN

FOX

4.1

778

10

AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK

FOX

3.6

617

* Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 11.63 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE ESTIMATES
Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 30

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Rtg

P2+(000)

1

AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY

FOX

12.6

2354

2

CSI: MIAMI

CBS

12.2

2181

3

AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY

FOX

11.7

2379

4

DANCING WITH THE STARS

ABC

11.0

1991

5

CBS NCAA POST GUN SU 2

CBS

10.2

1741

6

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHMP SA-2

CBS

8.2

1569

7

DANCING W/STARS RESULTS

ABC

8.1

1433

8

60 MINUTES

CBS

7.9

1271

9

CBS NCAA BSKBL CHMP FR 2

CBS

7.6

1459

10

OPRAH'S BIG GIVE

ABC

7.4

1413

* Ratings based on 13.45 million African American TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

TOP 30 NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending March 16

#

PROGRAMS

Net

Episode

Households

Persons 2+

US Rtg%

Shr

(000)

(000)

1

FOX NASCAR SPRINT CUP

FOX

KOBALT TOOLS 500

6.4

15

7183

10570

2

FOX NASCAR SPRINT PRE

FOX

 

3.4

9

3861

5460

3

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN

CW

 

2.6

4

2925

4821

4

NBA ON ABC-SUN 1

ABC

SAN ANTONIO AT PHOENIX

2.1

5

2358

2996

5

TAMPA BAY GOLF-SUN(S)-03/09/2008

NBC

 

1.9

4

2158

2643

6

NCAA BASKETBALL-SUN

CBS

FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY

1.6

4

1788

2460

7

NCAA BASKETBALL-SAT-1

CBS

STANFORD AT USC

1.5

4

1673

2002

8

TAMPA BAY GOLF-SAT(S)-03/08/2008

NBC

 

1.5

4

1727

2037

9

NCAA BASKETBALL-SAT

CBS

LOUISVILLE AT GEORGETOWN

1.4

4

1635

2005

10

NCAA BASKETBALL-SAT-2

CBS

KANSAS AT TEXAS A&M

1.4

3

1583

1945

11

ABC COLLEGE BASKETBALL-SA

ABC

VARIOUS TEAMS AND TIMES

1.1

3

1287

1562

12

NCAA MVC CHAMPIONSHIP(S)-03/09/2008

CBS

DRAKE VS ILLINOIS ST

1.1

3

1244

1589

13

NCAA BASKETBALL-SUN-2

CBS

PURDUE AT MICHIGAN

1.1

2

1187

1516

14

GMC NBA COUNTDOWN-SUN

ABC

 

0.9

2

1069

1277

15

NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 3/8(S)-03/08/2008

NBC

SNOWBOARD CROSS

0.8

2

948

1167

16

NBC NHL

NBC

PITTSBURGH AT WASHINGTON

0.8

2

934

1115

17

POKER AFTER DARK MO-SAT

NBC

 

0.7

4

775

830

18

NBA ACCESS W/AHMAD RASHAD

ABC

 

0.6

2

715

890

19

RACE TO MARCH MADNESS

ABC

 

0.6

1

638

714

20

FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN

UNI

UNAM VS MORELIA

0.6

1

635

1027

21

FUTBOL LIGA MEX SAT

TF

GUADALAJARA VS TOLUCA

0.5

1

594

1074

22

REPUBLICA DEPORTIVA SUN

UNI

 

0.5

1

568

836

23

AVP CROCS HOT WINTER NTS(S)-03/08/2008

MNT

 

0.3

1

328

379

24

SOLO BOXEO TECATE FRI

TF

MTAGWA/VALTIERRA-KNEDY/GNZALEZ

0.3

1

338

565

25

CONTACTO DEPORTIVO SUN

TF

 

0.3

1

310

480

26

FLM SUN 1

AZA

PUEBLA VS SANTOS

0.2

0

214

301

27

TITULARES Y MAS

TEL

 

0.2

0

193

238

28

TITULARES TELEMUNDO   S

TEL

 

0.2

0

274

492

29

RITMO DEPORTIVO

TEL

 

0.2

0

171

224

30

WWE - RAW

TEL

 

0.2

0

245

342

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

***
 
 
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Toni Fitzgerald is a staff writer for Media Life.




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