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NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV scores most-watched first week in 20 years

by jmaloni

Press release

Thu, Mar 28th 2013 09:30 pm

First week of tournament averages 8.9 million total viewers and delivers 7 percent ratings growth

CBS Sports and Turner Sports' exclusive live coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV combined to deliver the most-viewed first week of the NCAA Tournament in 20 years (1993), according to Nielsen Fast National ratings.

The combined coverage averaged 8.9 million total viewers, up 9 percent over last year's 8.2 million.

The 2013 NCAA Tournament is averaging a HH rating/share of 5.8/12, up 7 percent from a 5.4/12 last year, and is the highest average rating for the tournament's first week in 15 years (1998; 5.9/15).

Sunday's coverage averaged 11.1 million viewers, up 29 percent from last year's 8.6 million, making it the most watched first Sunday in 15 years.

Third-round coverage on Sunday, March 24, combined to deliver an average fast national HH rating/share of 7.1/14, up 27 percent from last year's 5.6/11. The 7.1/14 is the highest rating for the first Sunday of the tournament in 13 years (7.2/17; 2000).

Third-round coverage on Sunday, March 24, scored with ratings increases across all four telecast windows:

•The first daytime telecast window (noon-2:41 p.m., ET) averaged a 5.0/12, up 39 percent over last year's 3.6/9, the highest rating for the window in 11 years (5.2/13; 2002).

•The second daytime telecast window (2:57-5:18 p.m.) averaged a 6.8/14, up 26 percent over last year's 5.4/12, the highest rating for the window since 2006 (7.0/16).

•The first primetime telecast window (5:18-9:20 p.m.) averaged a 10.9/20, up 31 percent over last year's 8.3/16, the highest rating for the window in 20 years (12.6/27; 1993).

•The second primetime window (8:01 p.m.-12:12 a.m., ET) averaged a 5.9/10, up 4 percent vs. a 5.7/9 in 2012.

Additionally, according to Bluefin, the opening week of the NCAA Tournament generated more than 6.3 million comments across social media with comment volume up 154 percent over the same period last year.

Follow along on Twitter: @MarchMadnessTV for schedule updates and the latest NCAA Tournament broadcast news and information, and with #MarchMadness.

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