• by Paul Gough , April 15, 2003

On the strength of American Idol and despite CBS coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball championships, Fox took the week ended Sunday in adults 18-49 while CBS won in total household by a comfortable half-point margin.

In adults 18-49, Fox's 4.1/12 bested NBC (3.9/11), CBS (3.5/10) and ABC (2.7/8) while both UPN and The WB delivered 1.3/4. Fox's performance has helped it keep pace with perennial 18-49 winner NBC, although NBC remains in the lead for the season. NBC has earned a 4.5/12 season-to-date compared to Fox's 4.2/11. ABC and CBS are tied for third with 3.9/10.

In the total households demographic as surveyed by Nielsen Media Research, CBS delivered a 7.7/13 compared to NBC's 7.2/12 and Fox's 5.4/9. ABC came in fourth with a 4.8/8, which is slightly below its weekly average a year ago. The WB earned a 2.5/4, UPN a 2.2/4 and Pax a 0.9/1.

The top show of the week was once again CSI, with second place going to CBS special coverage of the NCAA basketball championships between the University of Kansas and Syracuse University. Two editions of 60 Minutes were 11th and 12th, with top 5 performer tying for 12th with Scrubs. A special CSI was 20th and the season-ending episode of Ed was 25th with a 7.3/9. The top 10 according to Nielsen for the week of April 7-13:

1. CSI (CBS), 16.6/25.
2. CBS NCAA Basketball Championship (CBS), 12.6/19.
3. American Idol - Tuesday (Fox), 11.9/19.
4. Without a Trace (CBS), 11.6/19.
5. Survivor: Amazon (CBS), 11.4/19.
6. American Idol - Wednesday (CBS), 11.1/17.
7. Cher: Farewell Tour (NBC), 11/17.
8. Friends (NBC), 10.2/17.
9. Law & Order SVU (NBC), 9.4/17.
10. Prelude to a Championship (CBS), 9.4/14.