NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

CBS dominant in Nielsen ratings with music awards, finale

NEW YORK

A country music awards show, a series finale and the network’s usually sturdy regular schedule led CBS to a dominant performance in the weekly television ratings competition.

Fourteen of the 20 most- watched programs last week were on CBS, the Nielsen company said Tuesday.

For the week of March 31-April 6, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 17.73 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 17.16 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 15.31 million; “American Academy of Country Music Awards,” CBS, 14.17 million; “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 14.1 million; “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS, 13.13 million; “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 12.28 million; “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.93 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 11.69 million; “Person of Interest,” CBS, 11.45 million.

Missing from Nielsen’s Top 20 list was Fox’s free-falling “American Idol.”

Associated Press