By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Even an NCAA championship matchup between two widely acknowledged as the best men's college basketball teams in the country wasn't enough to set the television world afire.
An estimated 16.92 million people watched Baylor win the national championship title by routing previously unbeaten Gonzaga on Monday, the Nielsen company said.
That's down nearly 14% from the 2019 title game between Virginia and Texas Tech. Last year's NCAA basketball tourney was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Viewership declines are hardly unusual in today's world. Awards show ratings have been cratering. Given that this year's NCAA football championship saw its ratings plummet 27% percent, the basketball ratings weren't half bad.
This was the first men's Final Four with no teams from the Eastern time zone, where nearly half of the country's television viewers are located.
Saturday's men's semifinal — already considered a classic — where Gonzaga beat UCLA in overtime on a last-second shot was seen live by just under 15 million people.
On Sunday, the women's NCAA championship, where Stanford edged Arizona, was seen by 4.08 million people, Nielsen said.
CBS handily won in the primetime ratings last week, averaging 6.1 million viewers. ABC had 3.8 million viewers, NBC had 3.7 million, Fox had 1.8 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 940,000.
Fox News Channel led the cable networks, averaging 2.13 million viewers in primetime. TBS had 1.61 million, MSNBC had 1.59 million, ESPN had 1.42 million and HGTV had 1.16 million.
ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.9 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News" had 6.8 million and the "CBS Evening News" had 4.7 million.
For the week of March 29-April 4, the top 20 shows in primetime, their networks and viewerships:
1. NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: UCLA vs. Gonzaga, CBS, 14.94 million.
2. "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 8.03 million.
3. "Law & Order: Organized Crime," NBC, 7.86 million.
4. "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.66 million.
5. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 7.35 million.
6. "Chicago Med," NBC, 7.24 million.
7. "The Equalizer," CBS, 6.99 million.
8. NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: UCLA vs. Michigan, TBS, 6.89 million.
9. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 6.64 million.
10. NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Arkansas vs. Baylor, CBS, 6.45 million.
11. "Chicago PD," NBC, 6.42 million.
12. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 6.21 million.
13. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 6.16 million.
14. "NCAA Basketball Studio Show," CBS, 6.1 million.
15. NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Oregon vs. Houston, CBS, 5.92 million.
16. "American Idol," ABC, 5.61 million.
17. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 5.55 million.
18. NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: USC vs. Gonzaga, TBS, 5.4 million.
19. "Magnum, P.I.," CBS, 5.37 million.
20. "United States of Al," CBS, 5.31 million.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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