TV Ratings: March Madness Dunks on TGIT

The Madness of March continues apace, with the Sweet 16 on CBS ruling the night. From 8 to 9 p.m., during a heart attack of a Michigan-Oregon game CBS pulled in a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic and an average audience of 7.77 million; from 9 to 10 p.m., which included the end of that game and the beginning of Kansas’ mauling of Purdue, it drew a 1.6 in the demo and 5.31 million viewers; and from 10 to 11 p.m., viewership spiked to a 2.1 demo rating and an audience of 6.78 million. (These rough estimates don’t include the entirety of either game — Michigan-Oregon started around 7 p.m. and Kansas-Purdue didn’t end until after 11 p.m.)

ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” bore up well against the NCAA Tournament, all things considered, with a 1.9 demo rating and 7.75 million viewers, only slightly down from last week. “Scandal” ticked down to a 1.3 and 5.51 million viewers. “The Catch” brought in a 0.7 and 3.47 million viewers.

Fox’s “MasterChef Junior” held steady with a 1.1 demo rating and 3.72 million viewers. Reality series “Kicking & Screaming” also held with its performance the prior week, drawing a 0.6 in the demo and an audience of 2.04 million.

NBC’s schedule was a bit erratic. America Ferrera’s directorial debut on “Superstore” stayed roughly steady with a 1.1 in the demo and 4.22 million viewers. A “Trial & Error” repeat followed, which was itself followed by a “Chicago Med” repeat that led into a new “The Blacklist: Redemption.” “Redemption” ticked down to a 0.7 in the demo and 3.98 million viewers.

The CW was in reruns for the night.

As a reminder, daily ratings fluctuations tend to amount to mere quantum foam, and many of these series will see lifts of 50% or more once viewing within three and seven days is counted. However, most of those gains won’t translate to the ratings guarantees networks make advertisers.

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