March Madness Ups Ratings With New User Control
This time of year in American sports is usually notable for the ‘March Madness’ tournament, which determines the NCAA national college basketball champion.
And while it is a feast of basketball for fans, the four host broadcasters, including CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV (formerly CourtTV) (the latter three all Turner Cable networks) will have reason to celebrate, after confirming that recent coverage of the second round of the 68-team tournament delivered the highest TV ratings to the NCAA Tournament rating (for its stage) in 20 years.
The overnight combined total for last Thursday’s games took a 5.7/13 ‘overnight household rating’ across the country, a rise of 24% from coverage of the 2010 edition lead by CBS Sports.
The success could also be attributed to the new methods of viewing simultaneous games which was tested, with a new multi-platform viewer’s choice approach replacing the historic method in which the network would make the switches between games on their choice.
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said of this innovation to the March Madness coverage: ”That’s going to take some getting used to, but it’s a better programming option for the viewer at home and the basketball fan. More work on his or her part to find the game, but they get to decide what game they want to watch. In the past, I think we did a very good job of moving around, but it was our decision.”
The new viewer’s choice option is part of a new $10.8B, 14-year deal for the NCAA tournament broadcasting rights with CBS and Turner. The current tournament is seen currently in the regional semi-final stage, in a single-elimination path to the famed Final Four stage, which this year is being held in Texas at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
Related News:
- Intels New Smart TV Remote Control Promises To Recognize The User
- World Series Hits Record Low Ratings
- Innovation Gives All-Star Game Slap Shot Up The Ratings
- Remote Control Hulu And Netflix With Motion Using Kinect
- NFL Hits Hard With Ratings Record
