TV Ratings: NCAA Final, ‘Dancing with the Stars’ lead Monday split

Fast National ratings for Monday, April 2, 2012.

CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament Final between Kentucky and Kansas took a bite out of the audiences for both “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Voice” on Monday night. ABC was still able to hold on to win Monday overall, but CBS toppled NBC to win among young viewers.

Semi-interestingly, drops for both of their lead-ins had almost no impact on “Castle” and “Smash,” which were fairly flat against the primetime peak of the basketball action.

For the night, CBS averaged a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49, beating the 3.4 rating for NBC in the key demographic. ABC was third with a 2.9 rating, followed by FOX’s 2.4 rating. The CW averaged a 0.4 key demo rating for the night.

Overall, though, ABC averaged an estimated 15.045 million viewers to go with a 9.8 rating/15 share. CBS was a close second with an 8.8/13 and 14.645 million viewers. There was a big drop to NBC’s 5.5/8 and 9.145 million viewers, while FOX finished fourth with a 4.5/7 and 7.45 million viewers. The CW averaged a 0.6/1 and 896,000 viewers.

[Univision averaged nearly 3.7 million viewers and a 1.5 rating for Monday primetime.”

8 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” started primetime in first overall for ABC with 15.59 million viewers, but it tied for third with a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49. NBC’s “The Voice” averaged 10.595 million viewers and a 3.9 rating to win the hour in the key demo. Repeats of “2 Broke Girls” and “Two and a Half Men” averaged 8.385 million viewers and a 2.6 key demo rating for CBS. FOX’s transplanted “Bones” had a solid Monday premiere with 8.19 million viewers and a 2.5 key demo rating. On The CW, “Gossip Girl” averaged only 1.06 million viewers and a 0.5 key demo rating in its return from a brief absence.

9 p.m. – “Dancing with the Stars” was up to 17.48 million viewers in its second hour, finishing third with a 3.0 rating among adults 18-49. The start of the NCAA Final gave CBS 16.04 million viewers and a 5.5 key demo rating. NBC’s “The Voice” averaged 10.75 million viewers and a 4.3 key demo rating. FOX’s “House” finished fourth with 6.715 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating. On The CW, a repeat of “Hart of Dixie” averaged 731,000 viewers and a 0.3 key demo rating.

10 p.m. – The Jayhawks and Wildcats improved to 19.51 million viewers and a 7.2 rating among adults 18-49 in the 10 p.m. hour for CBS. ABC’s “Castle” was second with 12.06 million viewers and tied for second with a 2.2 key demo rating. NBC’s “Smash” averaged 6.09 million viewers and a 2.2 key demo rating.