State of the Networks II: CBS

Though it has the rights to the NFL, the King Kong of sports television, the event that arguably defines CBS Sports is the NCAA Tournament. For years, the NCAA Tournament has been a bit of a throwback, staying in primetime on broadcast television when many other sports were migrating to cable. Because of that primetime broadcast TV platform, the NCAA Tournament on CBS is typically the most-viewed non-NFL postseason tournament in sports, flip-flopping with the MLB postseason and ahead of college football’s bowl games and the NBA Playoffs — both of which air mostly on cable.

Despite the success the NCAA Tournament has had for CBS, the event was getting too expensive for the network. In 2009, CBS “talked with ESPN about paying it to take the 2010 to 2013 tournaments off its hands,” according to the New York Times. This was a result of the “huge losses [CBS] anticipated over the remaining” three years of its contract with the NCAA.

That plan never came to fruition, as the NCAA opted out of the three remaining years on its contract with CBS following the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Instead, CBS partnered with Turner Sports to split NCAA Tournament rights through 2024 — and while the annual rights fee increased from the previous deal, the presence of Turner was projected to help CBS avoid future losses.

Though the NCAA Tournament is no longer exclusive to CBS, the new deal allows the network to keep the Final Four through 2015 and alternate coverage with TBS from 2016-24. The deal has ushered in over a decade of stability for CBS college sports coverage, as the network’s NCAA Tournament and SEC football deals are not set to expire until 2024.

Overall, three of the biggest sports properties on CBS (NCAA basketball, SEC football and the NFL) will remain with the network for at least another four years (the NFL deal was recently extended through 2014). The network’s contract with Augusta National to televise The Masters (an event it has aired for over 50 years) is renewed on a yearly basis. In other words, the stability continues.

From a ratings perspective, 2010 has been a very strong year for CBS Sports. Boosted by the Tiger Woods scandal, the final round of The Masters (10.7, 16.676 mil) hit a nine-year high in ratings and viewership. Meanwhile, the Duke/Butler National Championship Game (14.2, 23.994 mil) also hit a nine-year high in viewership.

The greatest accomplishment came for February’s Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints’ win over the Colts gave CBS the distinction of airing the single most-viewed television program in U.S. history. The game drew 106.476 million viewers, topping the previous record of 105.970 million for the series finale of M*A*S*H.

Of course, one year does not necessarily equal success. In 2009, the North Carolina/Michigan St. National Championship Game hit a record low in ratings, while ratings for the final round of The Masters were the lowest since 2004 — and there’s no way of knowing whether the increases from 2010 will continue into 2011 or the numbers will fall back towards earth.

Still, with a consistent line-up of strong events on a yearly basis, CBS figures to have a better chance of maintaining its 2010 momentum than rivals NBC or ABC.