CBS Sports’ and Turner Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTv combined, ties with 1993 as the best overall tournament-to-date average ratings in the metered markets since the tournament expanded coverage to all live games in 1991.
The overall tournament average-to-date, including the FIRST FOUR, in the metered markets is a 6.6/14, +18% from a 5.6/12 for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage according to Nielsen.
Coverage of the regional semi-finals on TBS and CBS on Friday, March 25 combined to deliver an overnight household rating/share of 7.6/14, +17% from a 6.5/12 for CBS Sports’ 2010 coverage, according to Nielsen. The 7.6/14 was the highest rating for the Friday regional semi-finals in the metered markets since a 7.8/14 in 2005.
The first telecast window of the night combined to earn a 5.9/11, even with last year.
The second window of the night delivered a 9.2/16, +30% from a 7.1/13 last year. The 9.2/16 is the highest rating for the second Friday regional semi-finals in the metered markets since the tournament expanded coverage to all live games in 1991.
Meanwhile on the digital side numbers are also setting records.
NCAA March Madness on Demand delivered a 67-percent increase in total visitsacross online and mobile apps for Thursday’s Regional Semi-Finals coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. In total, there were 2.7 million visits across platforms and there were 707,000 total hours of live streaming video consumed across broadband and the iPad and iPhone.
In addition, NCAA.com and MMOD combined, delivered 1.5 million daily unique visitors online and over 540,000 unique users on the iPad and iPhone app.
Here are today and Sunday’s Tip time and broadcasters.
SATURDAY, MARCH 26 REGIONAL FINALS (4:30-9:00 PM, )
4:30 PM CBS New Orleans Florida vs. Butler Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller and Marty Snider
7:05 PM CBS Anaheim Connecticut vs. Arizona Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Lesley Visser
SUNDAY, MARCH 27 REGIONAL FINALS (2:00-7:00 PM, ET)
2:20 PM CBS San Antonio I Kansas vs. VCU Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager
5:05 PM CBS Newark I North Carolina vs. Kentucky Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson
