Friday, March 22, 2013

NCAA tournament draws best "First Thursday" TV ratings in 22 years

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER


There were no upsets until Harvard stunned New Mexico at night and there really weren't a lot of close finishes, and yet the first day of wall-to-wall TV coverage of the NCAA men's tournament drew very large ratings, the best for an opening Thursday in 22 years.
Here's the release from CBS:
2013 NCAA® Division I Men's Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTv Is
Most-Watched First Thursday Since 1991

Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Coverage Delivers a 5.5 US HH Rating and 8.1 Million Total Viewers

NCAA Tournament-To-Date is Most Watched in 20 Years


CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second-round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21 combined to deliver the most viewed (8.1 MM) first Thursday of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.

Thursday’s coverage earned a Fast National HH rating/share of a 5.5/12, +4% vs. last year’s 5.3/13, the highest average rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 19 years (5.6/14; 1994). 

The 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date, including the First Four, is averaging a 5.0/11, +6% from last year’s 4.7/11, and is tied with the highest-to-date rating since 2006 (5.0/11)

Overall, the 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date is the most-watched in 20 years (1993).  The First Four and Thursday’s coverage averaged 7.4 million viewers, +7% vs. 6.9 million viewers last year.  

-          The first telecast window of the day combined to earn a 4.0/13, +14% vs. last year’s 3.5/13.

-          The second telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.1/13, +6% vs. last year’s 4.8/13.

-          The third telecast window of the day combined to earn a 7.1/12, +11% vs. last year’s 6.4/12.

-          The fourth telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.9/11, vs. last year’s 6.4/12.

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