NCAA Tournament Viewership Hits 17-Year High
Updated: 3:55 p.m. ET
Live coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
Championship on CBS, TBS, TNT and tru TV combined for a 5.5
rating tournament-to-date, up 15% for CBS Sports' 2010 coverage, according to
Nielsen Fast Nationals.
The four networks have averaged 8.4 million total viewers, up 14% from the one-network coverage in 2010, and the highest average total viewers through the first week of games in 17 years.
Sunday's coverage of the third round combined for a 6.6 household rating, up 16% from 2010 on CBS and tying 2005 as the highest-rated first Sunday of the tournament since 2000. Sunday viewership was also up 18% over last year to 10.5 million viewers.
This is the first year that all games of the tournament have
been shown live, across four networks.
The smarter way to stay on top of broadcasting and cable industry. Sign up below