Yes, as CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes, having all the games on at once on four networks works.
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5.6 overnight TV rating for 1st tourney Thursday is the highest overnight rating since 1991. Games at same time work.
darren rovell
darrenrovell
It’s evidenced by the ratings for the first real day of action in the NCAA Tournament where the combined average rating among CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV turned out to be the highest overnight ratings for the first day (despite the FIRST FOUR®), we’re calling Thursday the FIRST DAY® of the NCAA Tournament. Overall, the overnights turned out to be 5.7 rating with a 13 share. That’s an astonishing 24% from last year when CBS regionalized the action. Now you can see everything and instead of regionalizing, the games are all being showcased nationally and it works.
Here’s the press release from CBS/Turner.
THE 2011 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS, TBS, TNT AND truTV SCORES HIGHEST OVERNIGHT RATINGS IN 20 YEARS FOR FIRST THURSDAY
CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ exclusive second-round coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 17 combined to deliver an overnight household rating/share of 5.7/13 up 24% from a 4.6/11 for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage, according to Nielsen.
The 5.7/13 was the highest rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in the metered markets since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day.
The first telecast window of the day (12:00 NOON-4:15 PM, ET) combined to earn a 4.4/15, up +42% from a 3.1/10 last year.
The second window of the day (3:00-6:45 PM, ET) delivered a 5.1/13, up +46% from a 3.5/10 last year.
The third telecast window of the day (7:00-9:45 PM, ET) delivered a 6.5/12, up +8% from a 6.0/11 in 2010.
The final window of the day, (9:15 PM-12:30 AM, ET) earned a 6.9/13, up +13% from a 6.1/12 last year.
That’s it. Very good news on the first day which produced exciting action in the afternoon, but not so much at night.
