Preliminary Ratings: Thursday 03/17/2016

A full schedule of games kicked off the round of 64 for the 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament. CBS scored 4.2 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the A18-49 demographic, for the night, but its targeted demo, Males 18-49, it was #1 on the night. The games pulled six share. Compared to last year's first night of games, CBS is down1.3 million viewers and 24% in the A18-49 demo.

FOX edged out ABC to win the night, with two hours of AMERICAN IDOL. However, the show pulled its lowest numbers of the season, including a 1.2 in Adults 18-34

NBC was a distant 4th place with only SHADES OF BLUE showing any measurable signs of life in the ratings. it doubled its lead in numbers, from an encore of THE BLACKLIST.

Preliminary L+SD Network Averages:

	Total viewers	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
ABC	6.60 million	1.3	1.7	2.1
CBS	4.20 million	0.9	1.3	1.6
CW	1.10 million	0.3	0.3	0.4
FOX	8.10 million	1.2	1.7	2.5
NBC	3.50 million	0.4	0.7	1.0

Time	Net	Program	Viewers*	A18-34	A18-49	A25-54
8:00	ABC	Grey's Anatomy	7.90	1.6	2.1	2.5
9:00	ABC	Scandal	6.50	1.2	1.6	2.0
10:00	ABC	HTGAWM	5.50	1.0	1.4	1.9
8:00	CBS	NCAA Tournament	4.10	0.9	1.2	1.5
9:00	CBS	NCAA Tournament	4.10	0.9	1.3	1.6
10:00	CBS	NCAA Tournament	4.30	0.9	1.3	1.6
8:00	CW	Legends of Tomorrow [R}	1.30	0.3	0.4	0.5
9:00	CW	The 100 [R]	0.90	0.2	0.2	0.3
8:00	FOX	American Idol	8.10	1.2	1.7	2.5
8:00	NBC	You, Me & The Apocalypse	2.80	0.3	0.6	0.8
9:00	NBC	The Blacklist [R]	2.70	0.3	0.5	0.7
10:00	NBC	Shades of Blue	5.00	0.5	1.0	1.4

* - in millions