The Final Four Scores on CBS Saturday

AN ESTIMATED 14.94 MILLION VIEWERS AND A 5.0/15 AMONG ADULTS 18-49 FOR THE FINAL FOUR

SATURDAY 3/31/12
Fast Affiliate Results

-Total Viewers:
CBS: 14.94 million, ABC: 3.09, CBS: 3.03, NBC: 2.21

-Adults 18-49:
CBS: 5.0 rating/15 share, ABC and Fox: 0.9/ 3 each, NBC: 0.4/ 1

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-Winners:
NCAA Basketball: Final Four (CBS)

-Losers (excluding repeats):
Escape Routes (NBC), The Firm (NBC)

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-Ratings Breakdown:
Basketball-ignited CBS beat the three competing networks combined (more than doubling their performance among adults 18-49), with an estimated 14.94 million viewers and a 5.0 rating/15 share in the demo for the primetime portion of the NCAA Final Four. One year earlier, however, basketball on CBS was stronger with 16.71 million viewers and a 5.4/14 in the demo on April 2, 2011 (based on the Live Plus Same Day results from Nielsen). Regardless, a performance of this caliber proves that viewers will tune into network television on Saturday if there is something worth watching. Keep in mind, as always, that results for any live sporting event are approximate. Here is the half-hour breakdown:

NCAA Basketball: Final Four (CBS)
8:00 p.m. – Viewers: 17.90 million; A18-49: 5.8/20
8:30 p.m. – Viewers: 12.74 million; A18-49: 4.2/14
9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 14.40 million; A18-49: 4.7/15
9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 15.65 million; A18-49: 5.2/15
10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 14.27 million; A18-49: 4.9/14
10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 14.66 million; A18-49: 5.0/15

In series-premiere news, Escape Routes on NBC was DOA with what could be the network’s worst performance historically in the Saturday 8 p.m. hour — 1.12 million viewers (#5) and a 0.2/ 1 among adults 18-49 (#4). Next on NBC was another burn-off episode of The Firm (Viewers: #5, 2.08 million; A18-49: #5, 0.3/ 1 at 9 p.m.), followed by a repeat od Law & Order: SVU at 3.41 million viewers (#3) and a 0.7/ 2 in the demo (#3) at 10 p.m.

Elsewhere, a repeat of Shark Tank on ABC (Viewers: #3, 2.79 million; A18-49: #3, 0.8/ 3 at 8 p.m.) led into two-hours of 20/20: My Extreme Affliction at a non-competitive 3.24 million viewers (#2) and a 0.9/ 3 among adults 18-49 (#2) from 9-11 p.m.

On Fox, two episodes of Cops (original and repeat – Viewers: #2, avg. 3.40 million; A18-49: #2, avg. 1.1/ 4 from 8-9 p.m.) led into a repeat of Bones (Viewers: #3, 2.66 million; A18-49: #2, 0.8/ 2 at 9 p.m.). The two stepped in for Que Viva! The Chosen, which was demoted to late night.

Source: Nielsen Media Research data