NCAA dominates Thursday
 

CBS' presentation of the NCAA tournament dominated Thursday despite, declining slightly from last year.

The first day of NCAA telecasts averaged a 4.2 household rating, down 7%. In primetime, the coverage earned a 5.3 household rating (down about 10%) and averaged 8.4 million viewers and a 3.2 preliminary rating among adults 18 to 49.

ABC came in second place, opening with back-to-back episodes, marking the series premiere of "Miss Guided" (6.3 million, 2.2/7). At 9 p.m., the midseason finale of "Lost" (11.3 million, 4.4/12) took another dip while "Eli Stone" (7.5 million, 2.5/7) gained from last week.

NBC was third with "Deal or No Deal" (10.2 million, 2.6/8) and "Celebrity Apprentice" (8.6 million, 3.1/8). At 10 p.m., "Lipstick Jungle" (7.1 million, 2.6/7) enjoyed its highest rating since its premiere.

Fourth-place Fox aired "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" (7.3 million, 2.2/7) and "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (8.5 million, 2.7/7)


The CW had "Smallville" (3.4 million, 1.4/4) and "Reaper" (2.9 million, 1.2/3).