TBS, TNT, Adult Swim & Cartoon Network Q1 2014 Ratings Update

TBS has swept the demos by ranking as basic cable's #1 network in primetime delivery of adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 in Q1 2014. TBS also claimed three of basic cable's Top 10 original comedies for the quarter.

TNT scored four of basic cable's Top 15 original dramas for the quarter: Major Crimes, Rizzoli & Isles, Perception and Dallas.

Adult Swim claimed the second most-watched first quarter in its history among adults 18-34, while also ranking as basic cable's #1 network among adults 18-34 & 18-49 and men 18-34 & 18-49 in total day.

Cartoon Network ranked as television's #1 network in early prime (7-9 p.m.) among boys 9-14.

(Additional network ratings stories for the quarter, month and week are included below the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and NCAA March Madness Live sections.)

NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship

Turner Sports and CBS Sports' exclusive coverage of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship - across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV - is delivering its highest viewership in 21 years (since 1993). Through the first two weeks, the NCAA Tournament is averaging 9.8 million total viewers.

Saturday's two Elite Eight games on TBS delivered the most-viewed college basketball games in cable television history. The overtime thriller between Wisconsin and Arizona averaged 9.9 million total viewers and the Florida versus Dayton game averaged 7.2 million total viewers to rank first and second of all time, respectively.

NCAA March Madness Live

NCAA March Madness Live, managed by Turner Sports, continues to deliver record-setting video consumption, with more than 64 million live video streams across all platforms through the second week of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. This year's current total of 64 million live video streams is up +40% when compared tournament to date last year and has far exceeded last year's total of 49 million video streams for the entire tournament.

Additionally, NCAA March Madness Live has netted 13.5 million hours of live video consumed, an increase of +7% over last year and on pace to rank as an all-time record.

TBS

TBS, which was on track last week to win the quarter as basic cable's #1 network with adults 18-49, has now swept all key adult demos in primetime for the quarter, with wins among adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The victories with adults 18-34 and adults 18-49 extend the success TBS enjoyed in 2013, when it won both demos for the year.

TBS closed out the quarter by ranking as basic cable's #1 network in primetime for the week and month among total viewers and all key adult demos.

TBS has claimed three of basic cable's Top 10 original comedies for the quarter among total viewers, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49:

- Cougar Town - 1.9 million viewers in Q1

- Ground Floor - 1.8 million viewers

- Men at Work - 1.7 million viewers

TBS's original sitcom Cougar Town, which will close out its fifth season tonight, garnered 1.9 million viewers in Live + 3 viewing for last Tuesday's episode, an +18% lift over the prior week. Among key demos, the show averaged 1.1 million adults 18-49 (+9%) and 593,000 adults 18-34 (+31%).

TBS's hit series Deal With It has attracted more than 1.7 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery for Wednesday night's episode. Among key demos, the show has drawn 904,000 adults 18-49 and 431,000 adults 18-34 in Live + 3.

The Big Bang Theory on TBS continues to top the charts, ranking as the #1 off-net sitcom for the quarter and the month among viewers and adults 18-49. Last week, the hit show accounted for 18 of basic cable's Top 20 off-net sitcom telecasts among total viewers and 19 of the Top 20 among adults 18-49.

TNT

TNT has scored four of basic cable's Top 15 original drama series of Q1 2014:

- Major Crimes - 7.4 million viewers in Q1

- Rizzoli & Isles - 5.6 million viewers

- Perception - 3.3 million viewers

- Dallas - 2.7 million viewers

Last Monday's episode of the TNT hit Dallas took in more than 2.6 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery (up slightly vs. the prior week). The drama also scored increases among key demos, drawing 1.2 million adults 25-54 in Live + Same Day (+7% vs. the prior week) and 940,000 adults 18-49 (+3%).

TNT's real-life investigation series Cold Justice scored more than 1.5 million viewers in Live + Same Day delivery for Friday night's season finale, a bump of +3% vs. the prior week. For the season, Cold Justice averaged more than 1.4 million viewers in Live + Same Day, growing its delivery of adults 25-54 by +16% and adults 18-49 by +28% compared to season 1. With time-shifted viewing factored in, Cold Justice is averaging 1.9 million viewers in Live + 7 delivery through the first nine episodes of the season, with 811,000 adults 25-54 and 673,000 adults 18-49.

Adult Swim

Across March 2014, Adult Swim's average Total Day Delivery ranked #1 on basic cable among adults 18-24, 18-34 & 18-49 and men 18-24, 18-34, & 18-49.

Adult Swim original series Check It Out (Thursdays, 12:30 a.m.) grew average delivery of adults 18-49 (+3%) and men 18-49 (+3%) vs. last year's time period.

Anime series Space Dandy's new episode premieres (Saturday, 11:30 p.m.) grew average delivery among adults 18-34 & 18-49 and all targeted men vs. the same time period last year, ranging between 2% and 17%. Similarly, Bleach new episode premieres (12 a.m.) grew average delivery among adults 18-49 (2%) and men 18-49 (5%). Blue Exorcist new episode premieres (1:30 a.m.) increased delivery of adults 18-34 & 18-49 and men 18-49 vs. last year (between 6% and 9%), while Black Lagoon new episode premieres (2 a.m.) grew average delivery by mostly double-digits across all targeted adults and men, between 8% and 65%.

Family Guy Adult Swim episode premieres (Mondays, 10 p.m.) earned double-digit delivery gains across all targeted adults and men vs. the same time period last year, ranging between 25% and 73%. Original animated series Rick and Morty's new episode premieres (Mondays, 10:30 p.m.) grew average delivery of men 18-34 (1%) and men 18-49 (7%) vs. the same time period last year.

Across the month of March, Adult Swim programming accounted for 18 of the top 50 telecasts on basic cable for the month among adults 18-34, and 12 of the top 50 with men 18-34, both more than any other network.

Cartoon Network

Across March 2014, Cartoon Network ranked as the #1 television network among boys 6-11 & 9-14 on Monday Night (7-9p). Original animated series Steven Universe (8 p.m.) scored as the #1 program on Mondays in March among all boys 2-11, 6-11 & 9-14, while Adventure Time (7 p.m.) and Regular Show (7:30 p.m.) ranked #1 in their respective time periods on Monday nights among boys 6-11 & 9-14. Adventure Time episode premieres in March also grew average delivery among kids 9-14 (9%) and all boys 2-11 (1%), 6-11 (2%) and 9-14 (11%) vs. the same time period last year.

On Tuesday nights (7-9 p.m.), Cartoon Network ranked as the #1 television network among boys 6-11 & 9-14, earning average delivery growth compare to last year among boys 2-11 (4%). Among original programming, the animated comedy Uncle Grandpa (8 p.m.) stood out as the #1 program in its time period in March among boys 2-11 & 6-11, and grew average delivery among targeted kids 2-11 (4%), 6-11 (6%) & 9-14 (4%) and all boy demos (ranging between 8% and 16%) vs. the same time period last year.

Cartoon Network captured all targeted boy demos in March on Wednesday nights (7-9 p.m.) as the #1 television network for boys 2-11, 6-11 & 9-14. The March performance increased average delivery among all kids and boy demos vs. last year, ranging between 5% and 12%. The animated series DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk (8 p.m.) scored as March's #1 program on Wednesdays among boys 6-11, and #1 in its time period for the month among all targeted boys 2-11, 6-11 & 9-14. Teen Titans Go! (7:30 p.m.) also ranked #1 in its time period among targeted boys. New episode premieres of both series grew by double-digits across the board (all kid and boy demos) vs. the same time periods last year, ranging between 19% and 69%.

New episode premieres of Saturday morning's Pokémon The Series XY (8:30 a.m.) grew average delivery among kids 2-11 & 6-11 vs. the same time period last year (between 2% and 7%), and Legends of Chima (9:30 a.m.) was up among kids 2-11 & 6-11 (between 12% and 13%) and boys 2-11 & 6-11 (between 9% and 10%).

truTV

truTV's hit series Impractical Jokers wrangled 1.5 million viewers for their special Texas episode last Thursday, including 786,000 adults 18-49. The show ranked as one of cable's Top 5 programs in the 9:30 p.m. timeslot among key adult demos and yielded a remarkably low median age of only 33.