Ratings for the NCAA Tournament are down, but viewership online is surging.
The first four days of coverage averaged a 4.8 rating, down 9% from a 5.3 last year, reports Paul Gough of the Hollywood Reporter. Of the fifteen broadcast windows on CBS, thirteen saw declining ratings.
While CBS has reason to be disappointed with the television ratings, the network has to be pleased with the performance of its March Madness on Demand service. Through Sunday, MMOD recorded 3.3 unique daily visitors, up 129% from last year. Much of the increase is owed to CBSSports.com “[a]llowing more than 200 sites to link” to the service, and not requiring that viewers register.
Though “online viewership makes up barely 1 percent of total viewership for the tourney“, perhaps this is another example of the lessening importance of television ratings. While ratings are still a good indication of interest in sporting events, people are increasingly using other mediums to watch programs. Perhaps it is no surprise that a CBS marketing executive is calling for ratings to combine TV and internet viewership.
