TV Numbers Just Part of Tournament's Success

As CBS Sports and Turner Sports prepare for regional semifinals and finals, they're building on almost exclusively good news (with notable ratings and viewership gains) after the first full week of the NCAA Tournament.

According to Nielsen Fast Nationals, the overall tournament rating has been 5.5 with a 13 share while CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV have averaged 8.4 million viewers -- up 14 percent from last year's 7.4 million viewers at this point.

Almost every day brought good news for the broadcasters during the tournament's first week. Last Sunday, with a 7.3 rating and 14 share, ranked as the best first Sunday TV performance in 17 years.

This week's action moves exclusively to CBS and TBS, and what happens to ratings should be interesting. With each game more and more important, that should mean higher ratings and more viewers. UPDATED TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

That's something that has not happened for CBS when covering the tournament in recent years. Since 2006, ratings/share numbers have been on a slide. While 141.7 millions were estimated to have watched the tournament in 2005, none of the subsequent years have come close to that number.

Close games and the usual Cinderella stories helped ratings somewhat during the first week, but the improved broadcast approach -- with every game available somewhere in its entirety -- has been the key driving force in the ratings and viewership success.

At the same time, the broadcasts themselves have been good and the studio shows have been engaging and entertaining. Highlights have included:
  • A willingness to cover the news. While NCAA supervisor of officials John Adams looked a little less pleased during his subsequent on-air appearances this past weekend, CBS/Turner did the right thing by reaching out for his insights. Granted, his reasoning regarding the conclusion of the Arizona-Texas game and UNC's victory sounded flawed, but he was strong on the weekend's biggest moment (the wild Butler-Pitt finish).
  • An ability and willingness to have fun. After dealing with Adams again, studio host Ernie Johnson and commentator Charles Barkley had an exchange that included ... Johnson: "In a perfect world, John Adams wouldn't be on TV ..." Barkley: "We're going to start claiming him as a dependent."
  • Typically appropriate emotion from play-by-play man Gus Johnson.

Best of all, though, was Rick Pitino in studio. The Louisville coach, whose team was ousted early, was smart though somewhat stiff. Still, that did not stop him from sucking up to Adams and all officials on national TV ("they have a tough job to do," "you're not paying them enough") and making dour facial expressions when Barkley ripped the Big East Conference.