The NCAA Tournament was the big fish in the small Friday night pond.
Coverage of the NCAA Tournament from 8-11 PM averaged 10.3 million viewers and a 3.6/11 rating among adults 18-49 on CBS Friday night, according to preliminary numbers. NCAA Tournament action was easily the most viewed programming of the night, with the next most viewed program, Supernanny on ABC, averaging 8.1 million.
CBS easily won Friday night in total viewers and the key adults 18-49 demographic, beating second-place ABC by 54% and 80% in the respective categories.
This is in sharp contrast to Thursday night, when the NCAA Tournament helped CBS to a mere third-place finish, behind American Idol-fueled FOX and ABC. The NCAA Tournament drew roughly the same numbers on both nights, with the only difference being the level of competition.
