CBS is "counting on top-ranked Duke" for a ratings "boost" during its NCAA basketball coverage, according to Michael Buteau of BLOOMBERG NEWS. CBS drew an overall 7.3 Nielsen rating for its tournament coverage last year, an increase from the 7.2 it earned in '97, and its "highest" tourney rating since '94. Buteau adds that there are "plenty of reasons to be optimistic" this year, as college basketball ratings on CBS are up 2% this season. Ratings for ESPN and ESPN2 are up 13% and 8%, respectively. Buteau writes that the network is "likely to attract even more viewers" if there is an upset of a high-seeded team, as CBS "largely credited" last year's ratings to the "surprising success" of "little-known" Valparaiso advancing to the Sweet 16. CBS VP/Programming Mike Aresco: "The longer Valpo went, the greater the ratings were" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 3/11). CRITICAL COVERAGE: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that "one flaw" in the DirecTV tournament package "will be apparent" when CBS "shifts 'natural' markets from a blowout to a close game in another region." Sandomir: "Fans in those areas watching the blowout cannot watch the rest of the game via satellite" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/11). LOGGING ON: In DC, Eric Fisher writes that Wall Street Sports estimates that "at least" 2.5 million people will enter Internet tournament pools for this year's NCAA Basketball tournament (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/11). As of this morning, ESPN.com had 396,663 registrants for its men's tournament pool, compared to last year's total of 248,000 registrants. At one point Tuesday, the site was handling up to 300 registrations per minute. ESPN.com set records on Monday for single-day page views (12.7 million), visits (2 million), and unique visitors (1.4 million). The women's tournament pool, sponsored by Buick Regal, had "about" 36,000 registrants as of Wednesday afternoon (THE DAILY). The ESPN.com site sponsorship is one component of Buick Regal's increased support of women's basketball, as it will also run spots on ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of the NCAA women's basketball tournament (Buick). ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMING: In Toronto, Rob Longley writes that CTV SportsNet will show the NCAA men's tournament from "start to finish," but "plans to tinker enough with the CBS feed to give Ontario viewers an alternative to the U.S. network offering." SportsNet Exec Producer Scott Moore said that CTV is "taking a bit of a gamble as to whether there is a big Canadian audience" for the tournament. SportsNet will operate with less commercial time than CBS -- eight minutes per hour compared to CBS's 14 (TORONTO SUN, 3/11). EYE EYE! CBS NCAA analyst Billy Packer feels that CBS "does not get the credit it deserves," for its tournament coverage, as ESPN "was heralded for doing a better job when it handled first-round games." But Packer said that ESPN "didn't have to deal with both production and the switching decisions." Packer: "They were never involved in the games themselves. NCAA Productions did all the games, and they just sat in a room and said, 'This game looks interesting, let's go here.' Now CBS has the responsibility to show games and pick out spots to be shifted around. There's so much more responsibility, and I don't know if it's ever been fully appreciated" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/11).
