Basketball Leads CBS to Victory

It was another photo finish for CBS and NBC in the ratings race last week, with an assist from the NCAA basketball tournament helping the former score its second consecutive weekly win, based on viewing estimates issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

NBC’s “ER” topped the standings for the first time since December and only the sixth time since the TV season began in September. The network also received a boost Sunday by repeating “50 Years of NBC Late Night”--which drew a significantly bigger audience than its initial telecast on Sept. 23--while CBS belted out solid ratings with its Celine Dion special.

Midseason replacement series, meanwhile, for the most part continue to struggle. In fact, three had their runs brought to a premature end based on last week’s results, with Fox pulling “The American Embassy” and ABC cutting back on its plans for “Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)” and the Sally Field drama “The Court.”

ABC’s “The Bachelor” has shown some promise, but the network remains a distant third, with “The Practice” as its only show to crack the top 20 last week.

Viewing of the NCAA basketball championship game essentially mirrored results from a year ago. CBS research also estimates that nearly 137 million people watched at least a few minutes of its coverage over the tournament’s three weeks.

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National Nielsen Viewership

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