For the week of 4/5/04-4/11/04
NCAA UPS … : ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA women’s basketball championship was the network’s most-viewed basketball game ever. It averaged 3.8 million households, surpassing the previous high of 3.49 million for the 2002 NCAA women’s title game.
… AND DOWNS: CBS’ coverage of the men’s basketball championship game earned an 11.0 rating, the lowest ever for the title game since it began airing in prime time in 1973. Combined viewership for the game and the postgame show dropped for the third consecutive year. The 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State title game remains the highest-rated championship game ever, drawing a 24.1.
HIGH-LIGHTS: Golf fans tuned to CBS at a record level to watch highlights of the first two rounds of this year’s Masters. Total viewership for the Thursday and Friday 11:35 p.m. ET shows surpassed 7 million, a 15.9 percent jump over last year’s two broadcasts. The rating for the tournament’s final-round coverage, though, was down 10.2 percent from last year and off 26 percent from its high in 1997.
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