Updated: 3:20 p.m. ET
CBS Sports' and Turner Sports' combined coverage
on the 2011 Division I Men's Basketball Championship continued to pay off in
ratings Thursday, hitting a 17-year high.
The regional semi-finals on TBS and CBS delivered
a combined 7.6 household rating, up 15% from last year on CBS, according
to Nielsen. It was the highest household rating for the Thursday Sweet 16
round since 1994. The networks averaged 12 million total viewers, up 14% from 2010.
The first telecast window earned an 7.4, up 23%
from last year and the second grew 10% to an 7.8.
