'60 Minutes'soars on bball and Simon
Nearly doubles prior week's adults 18-49 rating
By Toni Fitzgerald
March 19, 2007
Many people tuned in to hear what Simon Cowell said on “60 Minutes” last night, most of it just as outrageous as you’d imagine from the “American Idol” judge.
The long-running CBS newsmagazine averaged roughly a 3.7 or 3.8 rating last night from 7:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, following the network's NCAA men's basketball coverage. Fast national ratings measure timeslot data, not actual program data, so these ratings will be adjusted when finals come out tomorrow.
It seems a safe bet, however, that “Minutes” received a huge boost, likely doubling last week’s 1.9 rating or coming close to it. That helped CBS to an easy victory in the demographic for the night.
CBS smartly selected a subject, the “Idol” judge, that would speak to the young people who watch the NCAA games, as Fox’s “Idol” is the No. 1 show on broadcast among 18-49s. Indeed, “Minutes” held onto much of the NCAA second-round games’ 4.3 rating at 7 p.m.
It likely will be “Minutes’” highest-rated show in months, since the National Football League season ended.
And Cowell, known as the surliest of the “Idol” judges, was as outspoken in his interview with Anderson Cooper as he appears on his own show, claiming to be more valuable to Sony BMG as a talent finder than Bruce Springsteen is as a singer.
CBS finished first on a relatively slow Sunday night, averaging a 4.0 rating among 18-49s and an 11 share. ABC was second at 2.6/7, NBC third at 2.5/7, Fox fourth at 2.4/7, Univision fifth at 1.8/5 and CW sixth at 0.7/2.
CBS led each hour of the night, starting with a 3.9 at 7 p.m. for the end of its NCAA basketball coverage and the start of “Minutes.” ABC was second that hour with a 2.3 rating for a repeat of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” NBC third with a 1.7 for “Dateline” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for the first of three hours of “Bailando por la Boda de Mis Suenos.” Fox finished fifth with a 1.3 for an hour of “The War at Home” repeats and CW sixth with a 0.7 for a repeat of “Pussycat Dolls Present: Search for the Next Doll.”
At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 3.9 for the rest of “Minutes” and the start of “The Amazing Race,” with ABC a close second with a 3.8 for a rerun of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Fox moved to third that hour with a 3.0 for a repeat of “The Simpsons” (3.3) and a new “The Winner” (2.7), with NBC’s “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” and Univision’s “Bailando” tied for fourth at 1.9 CW was sixth once again, this time with a 0.6 for “7th Heaven.”
CBS led with another 3.9 at 9 p.m., this time for the end of “Race” and the beginning of “Cold Case.” NBC was second with a 3.6 for a repeat of “Deal or No Deal,” Fox third with a 3.0 for a repeat of “Family Guy” (3.5) and another “The Winner” original (2.5) and ABC fourth with a 2.5 for a “Desperate Housewives” rerun. Univision was fifth with a 1.8 for its last hour of “Bailando” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
At 10 p.m. CBS completed the nightly sweep with a 4.2 rating for the end of “Cold Case” and the beginning of “Without a Trace.” NBC was second with a 2.8 for “The Apprentice,” with ABC and Univision tied for third at 1.9, ABC for a “Brothers & Sisters” rerun and Univision for the first hour of a Mexican soccer game.
Among households, CBS finished first for the night with an 8.8 average rating and a 14 share. NBC was second at 5.1/8, ABC third at 5.0/8, Fox fourth at 3.4/6, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 1.4/2.
