Overnight ratings for CBS' third round coverage of the
NCAA men's basketball tournament were not available this
morning. In Houston, David Barron reports that CBS' coverage
of the first and second rounds of the tournament averaged a
5.7/14 final rating, up 2% from last year's 5.6/13, but down
39% from '98's 5.9/15 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/24).
JUST A PEAK: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley writes that CBS'
use of "live look-ins" during its coverage has "to be used
appropriately, where CBS darts in and darts out, mindful to
get viewers back to their region's game as quickly as
possible. No look-in loitering allowed. But loiter CBS did
when it left the Wisconsin vs. Arizona game on Saturday to
look in at the end of a close Purdue-Oklahoma game. CBS
should be ticketed and fined for look-in loitering"
(MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/24). In L.A., Larry Stewart
writes, "Overall, CBS has done a good job of switching and
keeping viewers abreast. But a 64-team tournament is simply
too big for one network to cover" (L.A. TIMES, 3/24).
WOMEN'S CHANGE? USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke notes that
ESPN and ESPN2 will carry "all eight regional semifinals" of
the NCAA Women's basketball tournament on Saturday,
resulting in a "head-to-head situation that women's
committee head Bernadette McGlade hopes to avoid in the
future." McGlade: "You can talk about the men's tournament
(opposite the women's) but this is us against ourselves."
Martzke: "Best bet would be to move it back two weeks and
avoid most of the men's tournament to gain the attention of
college fans" (USA TODAY, 3/24).
