ABC's 'Idol' Holds Strong Against Big Sunday Competition and 'Deception' Beats NBC's 'Timeless' by 33% at 10pm

"American Idol" (8:00-10:00 p.m. - 7.4 million and 1.7/6 in AD18-49):
Jumping over its lead-in by 89% at 8:00 p.m. against an NCAA BASKETBALL overrun/Stormy Daniels-fueled CBS and building from its first to second hour, ABC's "American Idol" held steady with its week-ago telecast in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 vs. 1.8/6). For the 3rd time in as many weeks, "American Idol" delivered triple-digit improvement for ABC to the 2-hour time period year to year, vaulting over the year-ago night with "Once Upon a Time" and "Time After Time" by 208% in Total Viewers (7.4 million vs. 2.4 million) and by 143% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/6 vs. 0.7/2).

• Despite CBS' decided lead-in advantage at 8:00 p.m. from the highly rated "60 Minutes," ABC's "American Idol" overcame CBS' dramas ("Instinct"/"NCIS: LA"), NBC's unscripted series ("Little Big Shots"/"Genius Junior") and Fox's encore OJ Simpson documentary to rank No. 1 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. across broadcast in all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54) and among Teens 12-17.

• On top of its solid Live + Same Day numbers, ABC's "American Idol" is seeing substantial lifts in Live +3 Day with last Sunday's telecast rising to 9.2 million viewers (+18% from 7.8 million) and a 2.2/8 in Adults 18-49 (+22% from a 1.8/6).

"Deception" (10:00-11:00 p.m. - 4.0 million and 0.8/3 in AD18-49):
In the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Deception" held even with its week-ago National rating (0.8/3), which adjusted down 1-tenth from its Fast Affiliate number. ABC's "Deception" beat NBC's "Timeless" in the hour by 33% with young adults (0.8/3 vs. 0.6/3). "Deception" more than doubled its hour for ABC from the same night last year with "American Crime" in Total Viewers (+150% - 4.0 million vs. 1.6 million) and Adults 18-49 (+167% - 0.8/3 vs. 0.3/1).

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 3/25/18.