From the ‘better late than never’ department, here are the final ratings and viewership for each game of the 2011 Men’s NCAA Tournament on CBS and Turner Sports.
CBS and Turner Sports averaged a combined 6.4 rating and 10.2 million viewers for coverage of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, up 7% in ratings and viewership from last year’s coverage on CBS alone (6.0, 9.5M), and the highest rated, most-viewed NCAA Tournament since 2005 (6.9, 10.6M).
This marks the third straight year ratings have improved for the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, average ratings for each of the individual networks were much lower than the combined numbers. The NCAA Tournament averaged approximately 7.9 million viewers on CBS (26 games), 2.6 million on TBS (16 games), 2.1 million on TNT (12 games), and 1.2 million on TruTV (13 games).
Ratings/Viewership For the 2011 NCAA Tournament on CBS and Turner Sports
| Date | # | Time | Game | Net | Rtg | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., 3/15/11 |
1
|
6:30 PM | 16 UNCA 81, 16 AKLR 77 | TruTV |
0.8
|
1,200
|
|
2
|
9:00 PM | 12 CLEM 70, 12 UAB 52 | TruTV |
0.9
|
1,354
|
|
| Wed., 3/16/11 |
1
|
6:30 PM | 16 UTSA 70, 16 ALST 71 | TruTV |
0.5
|
786
|
|
2
|
9:00 PM | 11 VCU 59, 11 USC 46 | TruTV |
0.8
|
1,253
|
|
| Thu., 3/17/11 |
1
|
12:15 PM | 5 WVU 84, 12 CLEM 76 | CBS |
2.1
|
2,792
|
| 12:40 PM | 8 BUT 60, 9 ODU 58 | TruTV |
0.4
|
609
|
||
| 1:40 PM | 13 MORE 62, 4 UL 61 | TBS |
0.8
|
1,116
|
||
| 2:10 PM | 7 TEM 66, 10 PSU 64 | TNT |
0.6
|
793
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
3.8
|
5,310
|
||||
|
2
|
2:45 PM | 4 UK 59, 13 PRI 57 | CBS |
2.3
|
3,304
|
|
| 3:10 PM | 1 PITT 74, 16 UNCA 51 | TruTV |
0.3
|
510
|
||
| 4:10 PM | 12 RICH 69, 5 VAN 66 | TBS |
1.0
|
1,505
|
||
| 4:40 PM | 2 SDSU 68, 15 NOCO 50 | TNT |
0.8
|
1,102
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
4.4
|
6,421
|
||||
|
3
|
6:45 PM | 2 UF 79, 15 UCSB 51 | TBS |
1.0
|
1,404
|
|
| 7:00 PM | 3 BYU 74, 14 WOF 66 | CBS |
3.0
|
4,670
|
||
| 7:08 PM | 3 CONN 81, 14 BUCK 52 | TNT |
0.9
|
1,349
|
||
| 7:20 PM | 4 WISC 72, 13 BEL 58 | TruTV |
0.9
|
1,505
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
5.8
|
8,928
|
||||
|
4
|
9:07 PM | 7 UCLA 78, 10 MSU 76 | TBS |
1.6
|
2,437
|
|
| 9:38 PM | 6 CIN 78, 11 MIZZ 63 | TNT |
1.0
|
1,609
|
||
| 9:48 PM | 11 GONZ 86, 6 SJU 71 | CBS |
2.6
|
4,046
|
||
| 9:58 PM | 5 KSU 73, 12 UST 68 | TruTV |
0.6
|
1,009
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
5.9
|
9,101
|
||||
| Fri., 3/18/11 |
1
|
12:15 PM | 4 TEX 85, 13 OAK 81 | CBS |
1.7
|
2,284
|
| 12:40 PM | 8 MICH 75, 9 TEN 45 | TruTV |
0.7
|
956
|
||
| 1:40 PM | 2 ND 69, 15 AKR 56 | TBS |
0.6
|
871
|
||
| 2:10 PM | 8 GMU 61, 9 VILL 57 | TNT |
0.8
|
1,073
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
3.8
|
5,185
|
||||
|
2
|
2:45 PM | 5 ARIZ 77, 12 MEM 75 | CBS |
2.0
|
2,794
|
|
| 3:10 PM | 1 DUKE 87, 16 HAMP 45 | TruTV |
0.6
|
770
|
||
| 4:10 PM | 10 FSU 57, 7 TAMU 50 | TBS |
0.8
|
1,147
|
||
| 4:40 PM | 1 OSU 75, 16 UTSA 46 | TNT |
1.3
|
1,834
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
4.7
|
6,566
|
||||
|
3
|
6:41 PM | 1 KU 72, 16 BU 53 | TBS |
1.5
|
2,496
|
|
| 7:00 PM | 2 UNC 102, 15 LIU 87 | CBS |
2.7
|
4,054
|
||
| 7:12 PM | 3 PUR 65, 14 PETE 43 | TNT |
0.8
|
1,182
|
||
| 7:28 PM | 11 MARQ 66, 6 XAV 55 | TruTV |
0.9
|
1,474
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
5.8
|
9,206
|
||||
|
4
|
9:08 PM | 9 ILL 73, 8 UNLV 62 | TBS |
1.2
|
1,797
|
|
| 9:47 PM | 11 VCU 74, 6 GTWN 56 | TNT |
1.0
|
1,485
|
||
| 9:59 PM | 7 UW 68, 10 UGA 65 | CBS |
2.8
|
4,451
|
||
| 10:24 PM | 3 SYR 77, 14 INST 60 | TruTV |
0.9
|
1,485
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
5.9
|
9,278
|
||||
| Sat., 3/19/11 |
1
|
12:15 PM | 4 UK 71, 5WVU 63 | CBS |
3.9
|
5,858
|
|
2
|
2:45 PM | 2 UF 73, 7 UCLA 65 | CBS |
4.9
|
7,427
|
|
|
3
|
5:15 PM | 12 RICH 65, 13 MORE 48 | CBS |
3.9
|
6,016
|
|
| 6:00 PM | 2 SDSU 71,7 TEMP 64 | TNT |
1.9
|
3,055
|
||
| 7:00 PM | 8 BUT 71, 1 PIT 70 | TBS |
2.2
|
3,555
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
7.9
|
12,626
|
||||
|
4
|
7:48 PM | 3 BYU 89, 11 GONZ 67 | CBS |
3.0
|
4,771
|
|
| 8:54 PM | 4 WISC 70, 5 KSU 65 | TNT |
2.0
|
3,428
|
||
| 9:41 PM | 3 CONN 69, 6 CIN 58 | TBS |
2.2
|
3,458
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
7.2
|
11,657
|
||||
| Sun., 3/20/11 |
1
|
12:15 PM | 2 UNC 86, 7 WSH 83 | CBS |
4.2
|
6,357
|
|
2
|
2:45 PM | 1 DUKE 73, 8 MICH 71 | CBS |
6.3
|
9,666
|
|
|
3
|
5:15 PM | 1 OSU 98, 8 GMU 66 | CBS |
5.6
|
8,816
|
|
| 6:00 PM | 5 ARIZ 70, 4 TEX 69 | TNT |
2.6
|
4,408
|
||
| 7:00 PM | 11 VCU 94, 3 PUR 76 | TBS |
1.6
|
2,662
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
9.9
|
15,886
|
||||
|
4
|
7:30 PM | 11 MARQ 66, 3 SYR 62 | TruTV |
1.3
|
2,215
|
|
| 8:52 PM | 1 KU 73, 9 ILL 59 | TNT |
2.6
|
4,408
|
||
| 9:40 PM | 10 FSU 71, 2 ND 57 | TBS |
2.1
|
3,408
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
6.0
|
10,031
|
||||
| Thu., 3/24/11 |
1
|
7:00 PM | 3 CONN 74, 2 SDSU 67 | CBS |
4.1
|
6,296
|
| 7:27 PM | 2 UF 83, 3 BYU 74 | TBS |
3.3
|
5,261
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
7.4
|
11,557
|
||||
|
2
|
9:42 PM | 5 ARIZ 93, 1 DUKE 77 | CBS |
5.4
|
8,586
|
|
| 9:57 PM | 8 BUT 61, 4 WISC 54 | TBS |
2.5
|
3,832
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
7.8
|
12,418
|
||||
| Fri., 3/25/11 |
1
|
7:15 PM | 2 UNC 81, 11 MARQ 63 | CBS |
3.8
|
5,855
|
| 7:27 PM | 1 KU 77, 12 RICH 57 | TBS |
1.7
|
2,732
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
5.5
|
8,590
|
||||
|
2
|
9:45 PM | 4 UK 62, 1 OSU 60 | CBS |
6.5
|
10,707
|
|
| 9:57 PM | 11 VCU 72, 10 FSU 71 | TBS |
1.9
|
3,124
|
||
|
Combined Telecast Window
|
8.4
|
13,824
|
||||
| Sat., 3/26/11 |
1
|
4:30 PM | 8 BUT 74, 2 UF 71 | CBS |
5.8
|
9,174
|
|
2
|
7:06 PM | 3 CONN 65, 5 ARIZ 63 | CBS |
6.6
|
10,823
|
|
| Sun., 3/27/11 |
1
|
2:20 PM | 11 VCU 71, 1 KU 61 | CBS |
6.5
|
10,431
|
|
2
|
4:56 PM | 4 UK 76, 2 UNC 69 | CBS |
8.9
|
15,082
|
|
| Sat., 4/2/11 |
1
|
5:55 PM | 8 BUT 70, 11 VCU 62 | CBS |
8.3
|
14,189
|
|
2
|
8:57 PM | 3 CONN 56, 4 UK 55 | CBS |
9.5
|
16,715
|
|
| Mon., 4/4/11 |
1
|
9:15 PM | 3 CONN 53, 8 BUT 41 | CBS |
11.7
|
20,055
|
(Combined numbers from Turner Sports; additional information from Son of the Bronx, Media Life Magazine)
