Overnight ratings for the NCAA Tournament were not just up in prime time.
Three of the four NCAA Tournament telecast windows on CBS saw increased overnight ratings from last year. The biggest increase came for the second afternoon window of the day, which drew a 3.7 overnight rating, up 12% from last year’s 3.3.
Both prime time windows were also up from last year. The early prime time window drew a 6.1 overnight, the highest of the day, and up 9% from last year’s 5.6. Meanwhile, the late prime time window drew a 5.7 overnight, up 10% from a 5.2 in ’08.
The lone window not to see an increase in ratings was the early afternoon window, which drew a 3.1 overnight rating, flat from last year.
Overall, CBS drew a 4.7 overnight rating for its coverage of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, up 9% from last year’s 4.3, but still the second lowest average for first day coverage in the past five years.
Overnight ratings for day one of the NCAA Tournament.
Source: Sports Business Daily.
