NCAA Tournament ratings plummeted on CBS Thursday, but the combined audience across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV was the highest in twenty years.
Thursday’s second round coverage of the NCAA Tournament averaged a combined 5.0 rating and 7.4 million viewers across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV, according to Nielsen fast-nationals, up 19% in ratings and 16% in viewership from last year.
This marks the most-viewed opening Thursday of the NCAA Tournament since 1991.
The first telecast of the day (12:00-4:45 PM ET) earned a 3.8 rating and 5.310 million viewers across the four networks, up 36% in ratings and viewership from last year’s comparable window on CBS (12:10-3:12 PM: 2.8, 3.896M).
The second afternoon window (3:00-6:45 PM) drew a 4.4 and 6.421 million, up 47% and 51%, respectively, from last year (3:19-6:00 PM: 3.0, 4.257M).
The gains were narrower in primetime. The first evening window (7:00-9:45 PM) drew a 5.8 and 8.928 million viewers, up a tick in ratings and virtually flat in viewership compared to last year (7:00-9:59 PM: 5.7, 8.897M).
In particular, CBS drew a 3.0 and 4.670 million viewers for BYU/Wofford, barely half of what it drew for four regional telecasts a year earlier. Meanwhile, TBS drew a 1.0 and 1.404 million for Florida/UC Santa Barbara, TNT drew a 0.9 and 1.349 million for Connecticut/Bucknell, and TruTV earned a 0.9 and 1.505 million for Wisconsin/Belmont.
In the late window (9:15 PM-12:30 AM), the four networks combined for a 5.9 and 9.101 million viewers, up 5% and 3%, respectively, from last year’s CBS telecast (10:10 PM-12:31 AM: 5.6, 8.801M).
St. John’s/Gonzaga drew a 2.6 and 4.046 million viewers on CBS, the lowest rated NCAA Tournament telecast on the network since at least 2008. On cable, UCLA/Michigan State drew a 1.6 and 2.437 million viewers on TBS, Cincinnati/Missouri drew a 1.0 and 1.609 million on TNT, and Kansas State/Utah State brought up the rear with a 0.6 and 1.009 million on TruTV.
(Turner Sports; ratings for individual telecasts from TV By the Numbers 1, 2)
