There weren’t too many surprises in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday as Michigan and Louisville took their games with relative ease.
However, the big surprise may have been the overnight ratings for the South and Midwest Regional Finals. Both games on CBS averaged an 8.9 number with a 19 share. CBS’ overrun into primetime also won the night for the network. The overnight ratings are 25% better than last year which received a 6.4/13. The ratings may have been helped by Duke losing big to Louisville.
In fact, Louisville-Duke received a 9.4/21 rating which was 21% higher than the game in the timeslot last year.
Here’s the press release from CBS/Turner Sports.
CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF SUNDAY’S 2013 NCAA® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL FINALS EARNS 8.0/19, UP 25% VS. 2012 IN METERED MARKETS
Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Regional Final on Sunday, March 31 on CBS delivered an average overnight household rating/share of 8.0/19, up 25% vs. last year’s 6.4/13, according to Nielsen.
Sunday’s first telecast window (2:15-4:30 PM, ET), which saw Michigan defeat Florida, earned a 6.2/16, up 17% from a 5.3/12 in 2012. The second telecast window (5:00-7:30 PM, ET), which featured Louisville beating Duke, registered a 9.4/21, up 21% from a 7.8/15 in 2012.
The overall 2013 NCAA Tournament average-to-date ratings in the metered markets are a 6.7/14, up 8% from a 6.2/13 in 2012.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Metered Market data, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/13 to 03/31/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/25/12. 2013 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2010 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS/ESPN average of First Round.
That is all.
