CBS and Turner Sports averaged a 6.4 fast-national Nielsen rating and 10.2 million viewers for their coverage of the ’11 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, marking the highest-rated and most-viewed tournament since a 6.9 rating and 10.6 million viewers on CBS in ’05. This year’s figures are both up 7% from a 6.0 rating and 9.5 million viewers for CBS’ exclusive coverage last year. The overall tournament on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV also delivered year-over-year growth all key adult and male demos. CBS also earned an 11.7 fast-national rating and 20.1 million viewers for UConn’s victory over Butler in last night’s National Championship, down 18% and 16%, respectively, from a 14.2 rating and 23.9 million viewers for the Duke-Butler matchup last year (THE DAILY).
NCAA MEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RATINGS TREND |
YEAR |
NET |
RATING |
VIEWERS (000) |
MATCHUP |
'11 |
CBS |
11.7 |
20,100 |
UConn-Butler |
'10 |
CBS |
14.2 |
23,944 |
Duke-Butler |
'09 |
CBS |
10.8 |
17,649 |
North Carolina-Michigan State |
'08 |
CBS |
12.1 |
19,501 |
Kansas-Memphis |
'07 |
CBS |
12.2 |
19,563 |
Florida-Ohio State |
'06 |
CBS |
11.2 |
17,543 |
Florida-UCLA |
'05 |
CBS |
15.0 |
23,895 |
North Carolina-Illinois |
'04 |
CBS |
11.0 |
17,088 |
UConn-Georgia Tech |
'03 |
CBS |
12.7 |
18,573 |
Syracuse-Kansas |
'02 |
CBS |
15.0 |
23,686 |
Maryland-Indiana |
