US REPORT: MARCH 24, 2017

Sweet Sixteen coverage wins the night; WGA negotiations set to conclude Saturday, with no deal yet in place

BROADCAST RATINGS

Network Average

Broadcast Primetime Live + Same Day – Thursday, March 23, 2017

Time	Show	Adults 18-49 Rating/Share	Viewers (millions)
8 p.m.	NCAA Tournament (CBS) (8-9:30 p.m.)	2.1/8	7.07
	Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)	1.9/7	7.75
	Superstore (NBC)	1.1/4	4.22
	Masterchef Junior (FOX)	1.1/4	3.72
	Supernatural (The CW) – R	0.3/1	0.97

8:30 p.m.	Trial & Error (NBC) – R	0.7/3	2.891

9 p.m.	Scandal (ABC)	1.3/5	5.51
	Chicago Med (NBC) – R	0.8/3	4.58
	Kicking and Screaming (FOX)	0.6/2	2.04
	Supernatural (The CW) – R	0.3/1	0.83

9:30 p.m.	NCAA Tournament (CBS) (9:30-11 p.m.)	1.9/7	6.17

10 p.m.	The Blacklist: Redemption (NBC)	0.7/3	3.98
	The Catch (ABC)	0.7/3	3.47

RATINGS REPORT:

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 action carried CBS to a ratings win overall last night, averaging a 2.0 (2.1 in the first half of the night and 1.9 on the second half) with adults 18-49. This is a slight improvement over last year’s rating at this time by a tenth, but up considerably from last week’s earlier round coverage, which came in at a 1.3. As the games get down to the wire, expect to see even more of a ratings boost.
Good news for CBS and basketball fans, but a dip for ABC’s dramas as GREY’S ANATOMY (1.9), SCANDAL (1.3), and THE CATCH (0.7) were all down a tenth from last week’s episodes. Scandal also took the dubious honor of hitting a new season low at 1.3, but with its renewal already announced last month, the show has no reason to fear the current dip (for now).
Fox steered a steady ship for the night, with both MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (1.1) and KICKING AND SCREAMING (0.6) were even with last week, same with SUPERSTORE (1.1) and BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION on NBC.

Top 25 Original Cable Shows – Wednesday March 22, 2017

Of Note:

Following on the heels of its tenth season renewal, VH1’s BLACK INK CREW came in second place behind the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday, but dipped .1 from last week, from 0.8 to 0.7. Close behind was FRONT FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE at 0.5 among 18-49s, also down a tenth from last week’s 0.6.
FX’s LEGION bumped back up a tenth in its penultimate episode for Season 1, coming in at 0.4, a 25% increase over last week’s 0.4, while the second episode of OWN’s GREENLEAF predictably dropped down one-tenth to 0.4 from last week’s 0.5. Elsewhere in cable land, MTV’s CATFISH hung steady again this week, also at, you guessed it, 0.4.

OTHER NEWS:

While the contract isn’t up until May 1^st, the first round of negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP are scheduled to conclude on Saturday with no deal made yet. Both sides can agree to extend the negotiation period, if progress is being made, but the big question that remains is whether the WGA West and East go ahead with asking members for a strike authorization. While not a commitment to strike, it could set in motion a massive speed-up on scripts, as producers look to bank as much work as possible before a possible work stoppage. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this in the coming days.
Cher is dropping out of Lifetime’s recently announced FLINT movie, citing a “serious family issue.” Production is still set to begin in April, but it’s yet unclear who will step into the role after Cher’s sudden exit.