TV Ratings: NCAA Tournament Scores 22-Year High, ‘Last Man On Earth’ Rises

There was a little basketball bouncing around Sunday’s primetime, but for the most part it was the same old game with a mix of originals and encores on the Big 4. In fact, the mix even caused some shows to gain ground — especially in the contested 9 PM slot. Four weeks into its 10-episode run, ABC’s Secrets & Lies (1.5/4) bopped up 7% to match the high of its two-hour debut on March 1. With a good digital afterlife, the Ryan Philippe-starrer also saw its previous episode hit a Live+3 high in adults 18-49 with a 2.1 rating. However, last night’s top scripted show was Fox’s Last Man On Earth, which served up a double dose last night: A special 9 PM episode snagged a 1.9/6, up 19% from the regular 9:30 PM airing last week. A 9:30 PM broadcast, meanwhile, was even with its March 15 episode.

The biggest rise of the 9 PM slot ultimately went to NBC’s Dateline (1.2/3). With a lead-in of a The Voice repeat, the two-hour newsmag was up 33% from last week.

With a 35-minute delay in the start of its Sunday primetime on the East Coast and in the Central time zones due to overruns from the NCAA Tournament, CBS’ numbers are all over the court. Speaking of this year’s March Madness, the tournament is averaging a 6.7/14 overnight result to score its best ever numbers through the first Sunday since 1991. With broadcasts on CBS, TruTV, TNT and TBS, the tournament has bopped up 6% over it 2014 results so far. Moving into the Sweet 16, this weekend’s third-round coverage averaged a 7.3/16 overnight result to hit an opening-weekend 22-year high. It was also up 7% over last year’s first weekend — that’s drama!

Away from the court for a bit, Sunday’s 18-49 ratings will be adjusted later, but as it stands CBS won the night with a 1.5/5 rating and almost 10 million viewers. As the numbers go, 60 Minutes (1.9/6), which started at about 7:30 PM, was up 27% from last week, the 8:30 PM-starting Madam Secretary (1.3/4) was steady with an 8% rise, The Good Wife (1.0/3) was even with last week’s series low and newbie Battle Creek (0.8/2) fell 11% from last week.

Fox’s only other original of the night beside Last Man On Earth was Bob’s Burgers (1.0/3) at 7:30 PM. The first part of the network’s Sunday primetime saw NASCAR overruns in the 7 PM half hour so there may be a bit of a motor-revving bump for the animated show, but Bob’s Burgers was even with its March 15 episode. ABC had a full night in addition to Secrets & Lies. America’s Funniest Home Videos (1.4/5) was up 8% from last week, while Once Upon A Time (1.8/6) and Revenge (1.1/3) were even with their March 15 airings.