Ratings: March Madness Boosts Rerun-Heavy CBS to Top Sunday Primetime

With the exception of “60 Minutes,” CBS aired all reruns Sunday night, but the broadcast network still managed to top primetime thanks to a very strong afternoon lead-in: the opening weekend of 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament a.k.a. March Madness.

The Syracuse vs. West Virginia game ended just ahead of a new episode of  “60 Minutes,” which was the night’s highest-rated and most-watched show.

CBS was first in ratings with a 0.7 rating/5 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 5 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 7 p.m., “60 Minutes” scored a 1.4/11 and 8.8 million viewers. The rest of the night was filled with drama reruns.

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ABC was second in ratings with a 0.6/4 and in viewers with 4.7 million. At 7, “America’s Funniest Home Videos” had a 0.6/4 and 5 million viewers. “American Idol’s” “Hollywood Week” episode from 8-10 earned a 0.8/5 and 5.5 million viewers, which was steady with last week’s episode. At 10, the season finale of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” took a 0.4/3 and 2.9 million viewers.

NBC and Fox tied for third in ratings, each with a 0.3/2. NBC was third in viewers with 1.7 million, Fox was fifth with 1.1 million.

For NBC, following an encore airing of “The Voice,” “Ellen’s Game of Games” at 9 got a 0.3/2 and 1.6 million viewers. At 10, “Good Girls” ended the network’s primetime block with a 0.3/2 and 1.5 million viewers.

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For Fox, “Cherries Wild” at 7 settled for a 0.2/2 and 1.4 million viewers. At 7:30, “Bless the Harts” managed a 0.2/2 and 844,000 viewers. At 8, “The Simpsons” posted a 0.4/2 and 1.2 million viewers. “The Great North” at 8:30 picked up a 0.3/2 and 949,000 viewers. At 9, “Bob’s Burgers” landed a 0.4/2 and 1 million viewers. A repeat followed.

Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, each with a 0.2/2. Univision was fourth in viewers with 1.2 million, Telemundo was sixth with 852,000.

The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/1 and in viewers with 483,000. Following local programming, at 8, “Batwoman” got a 0.1/1 and 548,000 viewers. At 9, “Charmed” settled for a 0.1/0 and 346,000 viewers.

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