Oscar Telecast Stuffs the Game

The Oscar-NCAA battle between ABC and CBS Monday night was won handily by ABC, according to preliminary ratings figures.

In overnight ratings for 13 major cities, the Academy Awards pulled in a 32.6 rating and 50 share--meaning that half the operating sets in the country were tuned to the Oscars.

For the Indiana-Syracuse matchup--minus two cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles, because of the time difference--the rating was 18.3 and 25 share. In the hour that the two programs competed head to head, 6-7 p.m. PST, the Oscars had a 30.8 rating and 41 share, while basketball pulled in a 20.4 rating and 28 share.