March Madness ratings down going into Final Four

Heading into the 2008 NCAA Tournament Final Four, CBS is looking at a potentially historic weekend. We are not talking about the first Semifinal Round in tournament history to include all four #1 seeds, but the possibility that this may be the lowest rated tournament ever.

Due to a lack of nail-biter games and few Cinderella stories, CBS’s coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament saw an 11% drop in ratings through last Saturday’s games when compared to last year’s tournament ratings. The network has indicated that the Easter Holiday may account for part of the drop in ratings, and it has also been suggested by some that increased online viewing may have had an impact on ratings. The free internet broadcasts of CBS March Madness On-Demand has seen a 147% increase over last year, with over 4.3 million unique viewers.

Last year, the high definition broadcasts of the Sweet 16 had a 5.3 rating and a 12 share. This year, ratings have dropped to a 4.8 rating with an 11 share. A rating point represents 1,096,000 TV-owning residents, and a share is the percentage of TVs watching that specific show.

The Womens NCAA Tournament, on the other hand, has seen a 29% jump since last year. It deserves mention, however, that while the Womens game has seen a significant increase in viewership, its ratings points went from a .4 to a .5 on ESPN and a .5 to .6 on ESPN 2.

Tags: March Madness, NCAA BB

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