Another night in the NCAA Tournament and another rise in the overall overnight ratings. Last night got off to a bad start with two blowouts (North Carolina-Marquette and Kansas-Richmond), but the late window really ramped up with two compelling games (Kentucky-Ohio State and VCU-Florida State). Thanks to games that went down to the wire in the nightcap, ratings on CBS and TBS rose from a 5.9 in the first window to an amazing 9.2 with a 16 share. The late Friday night window ratings are the highest in 20 years.
The total average rating for the entire night 7.6/14 which is up 17% from 2010 on CBS. So we have some good news for CBS/TBS. Now the real test will be with the rest of the games on CBS, will the ratings go up or will they be level with last year? That’s the question. Here’s the press release.
CBS SPORTS’ AND TURNER SPORTS’ EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2011 NCAA® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP DELIVERS HIGHEST OVERALL TOURNAMENT RATINGS IN 20 YEARS
Friday’s Regional Semi-Finals Ratings +17% Over 2010
CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTv combined, ties with 1993 as the best overall tournament-to-date average ratings in the metered markets since the tournament expanded coverage to all live games in 1991. The overall tournament average-to-date, including the FIRST FOUR®, in the metered markets is a 6.6/14, up +18% from a 5.6/12 for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage according to Nielsen.
Coverage of the regional semi-finals on TBS and CBS on Friday, March 25 combined to deliver an overnight household rating/share of 7.6/14, up +17% from a 6.5/12 for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage, according to Nielsen. The 7.6/14 was the highest rating for the Friday regional semi-finals in the metered markets since a 7.8/14 in 2005.
The first telecast window of the night combined to earn a 5.9/11, even with last year.
The second window of the night delivered a 9.2/16, up +30% from a 7.1/13 last year. The 9.2/16 is the highest rating for the second Friday regional semi-finals in the metered markets since the tournament expanded coverage to all live games in 1991.
I hope to have links for you provided that I’m not surprised and don’t have to go to work.
