CBS drew a 3.9 overnight rating for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Selection Show yesterday from 6:00-7:00pm ET, marking the lowest figure for the show in at least a decade. Yesterday’s telecast was down 7% from a 4.2 overnight last year, and down from a 4.4 overnight in ’13. Louisville led all markets with an 18.2 local rating, followed by Milwaukee (13.1), Indianapolis (12.3), Columbus (11.0) and Dayton (10.7). This year's Selection Show had to compete with Fox' telecast of a late-starting NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from Phoenix, which did not end until 6:45pm. Last year, the NASCAR race on the same weekend was completed before the Selection Show began. Meanwhile, ESPN drew a 1.4 overnight for its “Bracketology” special from 7:00-9:00pm, down slightly from a 1.5 overnight last year (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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SELECTION SUNDAY OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND ON CBS
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YEAR
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OVERNIGHT
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YEAR
|
OVERNIGHT
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'15
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3.9
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'10
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4.8
|
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'14
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4.2
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'09
|
4.8
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'13
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4.4
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'08
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4.4
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'12
|
4.0
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'07
|
4.7
|
|
'11
|
4.4
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'06
|
4.7
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HOSTS WITH THE MOST: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote CBS Sports "has searched far and wide to find the right grouping for the NCAA Selection Show," and the net "did well" with host Greg Gumbel and analysts Seth Davis, Doug Gottlieb, and Clark Kellogg. The three analysts "are immersed in the sport year-round and that’s the resume you want for a show like this." It is not an easy show to do "given the analysts don’t have much lead time with the selections and it’s only 40-something minutes of content." One element that "would improve the show" would be if CBS stops giving a segment "to the broadcasters calling the Final Four and title game." Deitsch: "No disrespect to Jim Nantz, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery but that’s valuable time that could [be] far better served for viewers with staffers such as Davis, Gottlieb ... and Kellogg breaking down matchups." Meanwhile, ESPN’s "Bracketology" show "had an excellent core" made up of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams. An interview with Kentucky coach John Calipari near the top of the show was "particularly amusing" (
SI.com, 3/15).
GUMBEL STUMBLES: In Las Vegas, Taylor Bern notes the CBS' hosts advanced view of the bracket "might have led to a slip-up that took some of the air out of the Mountain West’s hopes to get four teams into the tournament early in the show." Two teams -- Mountain West tournament winner Wyoming and at-large selection San Diego State -- "knew they were in," while Boise State and Colorado State "were hoping they had done enough to get invited to the dance." Wyoming was the first MWC team "off the board," but Gumbel "accidentally said 'the third team out of the Mountain West,'" when announcing the Cowboys. Boise State "heard its name shortly thereafter and it became clear Colorado State would ... be left out of the NCAA Tournament" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 3/16). In L.A., Zach Helfand notes Gumbel added some additional suspense as to whether UCLA would make the field. While announcing the East region, he "called out the next team: 'UC' -- the team waited on edge -- 'Irvine.'" Helfand: "Moments later, Gumbel said: 'The Bruins of' -- inhale -- 'Belmont.' Exhale." UCLA eventually was shown as an 11-seed in the South, but coach Steve Alford said, "We almost got tricked" (L.A. TIMES, 3/16).
AN EYE ON THE EYE: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes the "endless ending" to yesterday's VCU-Dayton Atlantic 10 Championship final -- and CBS’ "inability to show two big inbounds plays down the stretch -- was made endurable by Jim Spanarkel’s alert, no-silly-talk, miss-nothing, consider-the-circumstances analysis." Meanwhile, Nantz "has earned enough trust and job security to not be another NCAA TV panderer." Saturday he said that Maryland’s Dez Wells "starred at Xavier before transferring, leaving it at that." He made no mention of the fact that Wells "left under ugly circumstances, including a four-game ban for his lead role in a still-infamous brawl near the end of a game vs. Cincinnati" (N.Y. POST, 3/16).
THROWING IN THE TOWEL FOR THIS YEAR: Westwood One announced that Basketball HOFer John Thompson, part of the net's radio broadcast team the past 11 years, "missed this week’s Big East Tournament and will not work the NCAA Tournament following corrective surgery." In Albany, Pete Dougherty noted Thompson had surgery "for a benign twisted intestine less than two weeks ago and is recovering at home" (TIMESUNION.com, 3/14). Meanwhile, in Chicago, Ed Sherman noted former ESPN analyst Digger Phelps "will be part of CampusInsiders.com's extensive coverage of the NCAA tournament" this year. Phelps last spring "left ESPN after 20 years" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 3/13).
GREEN ONIONS: In Denver, Dusty Saunders writes Raftery this season finally has "reached his pinnacle" of calling the Final Four after 33 years "of calling games in gyms and arenas across the country." It is "difficult, if not impossible, to find someone on the basketball scene who is not applauding Raftery's promotion." While "noted for his spontaneous trademark outbursts, Raftery always offers an inside view of the game -- particularly around the basket -- that many announcers ignore or don't understand" (DENVER POST, 3/16). In N.Y., Kevin Armstrong profiled Raftery and noted he will “address the largest audience of his career on Holy Saturday, preaching in his evocative vernacular” during his first Final Four TV call. CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said, “Bill’s energy is remarkable. When he gets excited, his excitement is infectious for the viewer.” Armstrong noted Raftery is “the familiar presence in the era of conference realignment, calling games for Fox Sports 1, home of the Big East, here, and sitting courtside for Big Ten contests there” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/15). CBS’ Verne Lundquist, who partnered with Raftery for years during the NCAA tourney, said, “I just think that people feel warmly about Bill. I wasn't surprised at the reaction, but it's even more positive, I think, than I expected” (NEWSDAY, 3/14). Lundquist is among seven sports media personalities who share their "Raff stories" in this week's SportsBusiness Journal.
BRACKET BUILDERS: In N.Y., Tim Casey profiles ESPN "bracketologists" Joe Lunardi and Charlie Creme, who have been with the net "for more than a decade and are familiar faces to many fans who follow the sport closely." Their part-time job "is more a labor of love than a demanding occupation." ESPN about a decade ago "asked Lunardi to project the NCAA women’s field," as he by then "had established himself as an authority at predicting the men’s teams." However, he "declined the additional duties because he was busy working his St. Joseph’s and men’s bracketology jobs and raising a young family." Lunardi "knew the right man for the position: Creme." Through the years, Creme’s ESPN role "has expanded." At first, he "was strictly a bracketologist and did not reveal his initial projections until February." Now, the first bracket "is published in November and is updated each Monday starting in early January." Creme also "helps plan ESPN.com’s women’s basketball coverage and writes analysis articles, including accounts on site at the women’s Final Four" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/16).
