Ratings

2015 NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES HIGHEST OVERNIGHT RATING EVER FOR FIRST THURSDAY OF TOURNAMENT

Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Coverage Earns 6.6 Overnight Rating, Up 10% vs. 2014

NCAA March Madness Live Delivers Record-Setting First Thursday with 22 Million Live Video Streams

        CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive second round coverage of the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 19, delivered the all-time highest rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament (since the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day in 1991). Thursday’s games averaged a 6.6/14 overnight ratings/share, up 10% compared with a 6.0/14 in 2014, according to Nielsen metered market ratings. 

        Additionally, NCAA March Madness Live delivered a record-setting first Thursday of tournament action with 22 million live video streams registering a 12% increase over last year.

        Thursday’s television coverage, which made NCAA Tournament history with five games decided by one point, showed ratings growth among the telecast windows. 

 

  • The first daytime telecast window (12:00-4:30 p.m. ET) averaged a 4.6/15 to tie last year as the highest rating for the game window in 25 years
  • The second daytime telecast window (2:45-7:30 p.m.) averaged a 6.7/16 to garner the highest rating in for the game window since 1991. The telecast window is up 24% compared with a 5.4/14 in 2014.
  • The first primetime telecast window (6:45-10:30 p.m.) averaged a 7.8/13 to register the highest rating for the game window in 25 years. The window surpassed a 7.7/15 in 2014.
  • The second primetime window (9:15 p.m.-1:15 a.m.) averaged a 7.1/13 to deliver the highest rating for the game window in 25 years and a 15% increase over the same telecast window last year (6.2/12).

 

Source: Nielsen Media Research, Arianna, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/15 vs. 03/20/14.   2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data.


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Media Contacts:

 

Nate Smeltz, Turner Sports, at (404) 827-4786 or nate.smeltz@turner.com

Dan Sabreen, CBS Sports, at (212) 975-5936 or dsabreen@cbs.com