TBS Scores Weekly Ratings Win

TBS rode its March Madness Final Four college basketball tournament coverage to a weekly primetime cable ratings win, according to Nielsen.

TBS averaged 2.3 million viewers to finish as the most watched cable network in primetime during the week of March 28 to April 3, said Nielsen. The season six finale of AMC’s zombie-themed series The WalkingDead -- the most watched cable show of the week with 14 million viewers -- helped AMC finish second for the week with 1.9 million viewers, followed by Fox News with 1.8 million.

HGTV continued its strong ratings showing in 2016, landing in fourth place with 1.6 million viewers, followed by Disney Channel, which averaged 1.3 million viewers for the week.

Rounding out the top 10 tied with 1.2 million viewers were TNT, History, Discovery Channel, CNN and ESPN.

TBS was also the top choice among adults 18-49 in primetime, while AMC was tops among the key female demos.

Nickelodeon topped all cable networks on a 24-hour basis, averaging 1.2 million viewers, besting Fox News, Disney Channel, Adult Swim and HGTV.

Most Watched Shows During the Week of March 28 to April 3

Date    Show                                                               Network                     Total Viewers

4/3     The Walking Dead                                        AMC                            14.1 million

4/2     NCAA Final Four NC/Syracuse                     TBS                             10.1 million

4/2     NCAA Final Four Bridge                                TBS                               8.5 million

4/2     NCAA Final Four Villanova/Okl                     TBS                               8.3 million

4/3     Talking Dead                                                 AMC                              6.3 million

4/3     NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing                         FS1                                4.2 million

3/28   WWE Monday Night Raw                             USA                               3.8 million

3/29   Fixer Upper                                                   HGTV                            3.8 million

3/28   WWE Monday Night Raw                             USA                               3.8 million

3/28   WWE Monday Night Raw                             USA                               3.6 million

Source: Nielsen

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.