CBS's telecast of the NCAA men's basketball
championship game on Monday night "delivered the lowest
primetime household rating in the history of the event,"
according to Stephen Battaglio of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Nielsen figures showed the game averaged a 17.2/27, down
from last year's previous low of 17.8/28. Battaglio notes
that viewers "may not have anticipated such a competitive
contest," as viewership averaged 19.7 million in the first
half-hour, but "jumped" to 25.6 million by the second half-
hour, giving the game a viewership average of 26.3 million
for the duration. The game did score "strong" ratings among
men 18-34 (11.2), 18-49 (14.2) and 25-54 (15.9), and CBS won
the night in households, adults 18-49 (7.9) and viewers
(20.2 million) (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/31). While CBS saw an
all-time low men's finals rating, ESPN reported a double-
digit increase for the women's final. See (#8).
FINAL ROUND-UP: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that
the average rating for the tournament was a 6.8, down 7%
from last year's 7.3. CBS Sports President Sean McManus:
"I'm beginning to agree with [Billy] Packer that TV ratings
don't accurately reflect the number of people watching the
NCAA tournament and the number of those watching major
sports events, period. It is beyond the realm of reality to
me that 83% of homes with TV sets weren't watching the
NCAAs. We expected an upside to the championship,
considering the incredible nature of the game." Young &
Rubicam's Bob Igiel: "There are a lot of options out there
on a Monday night, not just sports. With all the things
going on, to be a little off in the rating is still pretty
good." Mediacom's Jon Mandel: "We've got to get used to
every year the ratings being lower as choices increase for
viewers" (USA TODAY, 3/31). In Atlanta, Prentis Rogers
writes that the rating is the lowest for an NCAA title game
"since CBS began televising the event" in '82. CBS
VP/Communications LeslieAnne Wade: "We expected the rating
to be a little higher" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/31). DAILY
VARIETY's Tom Beirbaum notes that although NBC
"counterprogrammed" the game with a Julia Roberts movie and
Fox featured two hours of "Ally McBeal," CBS won the night
in women 18-49 with a 7.6 average (DAILY VARIETY, 3/31).
LOCAL RATINGS: NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay notes that the
game's ratings in the top three markets were: N.Y. (15.6),
L.A. (11.8) and Chicago (15.6), all below the national
average (NEWSDAY, 3/31). Hartford earned a 49.7/66, while
Raleigh-Durham scored a 36.2/49 (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/31).
NO MO: CBS execs cited two factors that "influenced the
ratings:" Saturday's semi-final games competed against the
Kosovo situation and no West Coast team "except" Gonzaga
advanced past the second round (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS,
3/31). In Boston, Howard Manly writes that "wrestling owns
Monday night" cable TV viewership and Nielsen "has an absurd
way of measuring viewers of sports programs." Manly adds
that the semi-finals are "supposed to build interest among
casual fans for" the championship game, but "it didn't this
year, largely because" of news breaking in Kosovo on
Saturday, as cable news outlets reported "record numbers" of
viewers, "mostly men" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/31).
FINAL THOUGHTS: In DC, Leonard Shapiro writes that CBS
Sports "rose to the occasion" for Monday's broadcast: "Save
for seemingly endless and maddening commercial and
promotional breaks ... the production was generally top-of-
the-line, the commentary informative and often insightful"
(WASHINGTON POST, 3/31)....NCAA Senior VP Tom Jernstedt gave
kudos to St. Petersburg and Tropicana Field, as both "did a
marvelous job" hosting the Final Four. Jernstedt: "It was
very well-planned and executed." In St. Petersburg, Kelly
Ryan notes that the "loudest complaints came from coaches
and reporters, who lamented the drive from Tampa to St.
Petersburg and the lack of a central, campus-like meeting
place" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/31).
EYE GLASS: During its broadcast of the men's final on
Monday, CBS ran 12 network promos. Jim Nantz provided voice-
over promos of "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,"
"Jag," and "Species." Ken Olin, star of CBS's "L.A.
Doctors," was shown near the end of the first half watching
the game from the stands. CBS ran two bumpers for "Jag" and
one each for "Joan of Arc," "Species," the "Late Show,"
"Nash Bridges," "60 Minutes II," and "The Late Late Show
with Craig Kilborn." Whistle-to-whistle game time was
2:08:05. By comparison, Fox ran 27 in-game network promos
during its three-hour-plus Super Bowl broadcast (THE DAILY).
