It was a lost weekend for college basketball on broadcast.
Three college basketball games on CBS and ABC averaged a 0.8 overnight rating on Saturday and Sunday. To put that in perspective, four taped skiing telecasts on CBS and NBC also averaged a 0.8 for over the weekend.
CBS drew a 0.8 overnight for each of its two telecasts, which aired on 1 PM on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The 0.8 for Saturday’s regional action was off 50% from a 1.6 for last year’s Boston College/Duke tilt.
Meanwhile, the 0.8 for Sunday’s Purdue/Illinois game was down 38% from a 1.3 for Indiana/Ohio State last year, and was beaten head-to-head by the Red Wings/Penguins game on NBC airing at the same time (1.1 to 0.8). The game also drew a lower rating than the taped skiing telecast that aired before it (0.9 to 0.8)
Over on ABC, a set of regional match-ups drew a mere 0.7 overnight Saturday afternoon, off 36% from a 1.1 for comparable coverage in ’08. The 0.7 ties as the lowest overnight rating for any sporting event on ABC, CBS or NBC this weekend.
