Register

    March Madness: Tournament ratings up after most-watched Elite Eight Sunday in 5 years

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments774 Views
    North Carolina State's Michael O'Connell (12) reacts after a basket by DJ Burns Jr. (30) against Duke during the second half of an Elite Eight college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas, Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
    NEW YORK --

    The Elite Eight game between NC State and Duke produced the largest audience for an Easter Sunday telecast on any network in 11 years.

    The Wolfpack's 76-64 victory over the Blue Devils in the South Region final averaged 15.1 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen. The 2013 Elite Eight game between Duke and Louisville averaged 15.6 million.

    Overall, the NCAA Tournament is averaging 9.4 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, a 4% increase over last year.

    Sunday's first game between Purdue and Tennessee averaged 10.4 million, making it the most-watched early regional final in five years.

    Sunday's viewer average of 12.8 million is a 30% increase over last year, and the most-watched Elite Eight doubleheader since 2019.

    Thursday and Friday's Sweet 16 games on CBS, TBS and truTV averaged 10.3 million, up 5% from 2023.

    Alabama's victory over North Carolina on Thursday night on CBS was the most-watched regional semifinal game, with a 7.8 million viewer average. Duke's win over Houston on Friday night drew 7.3 million on CBS.

    Tags:CBSNCAANielsenTBSTNT



    What will happen to CNBC and MSNBC when they no longer have a corporate connection to NBC News?

    Thursday, November 21, 2024
    MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

    Comcast's corporate reorganization means that there will soon be two television networks with "NBC" in their name — CNBC and MSNBC — that will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News.

    How that affects viewers of those networks, along with the people who work there, still needs to shake out. Their new corporate leader, Mark Lazarus, visited the set of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as the plan was being announced on Wednesday and spoke to network staff members during a morning conference call to address concerns.

    Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line.

    In the space of a lifetime, the networks went from upstarts aside a legacy operation like NBC to profitable superstars to castoffs.

    Questions range from the simple to complex
    Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, is becoming CEO of the newly-formed company of cable networks, temporarily dubbed "SpinCo." Cesar Conde, who as NBC Universal News Group chairman had oversight of CNBC and MSNBC, will lose those networks from his portfolio, yet remain in charge of NBC News, NBC News Now streaming, Telemundo and the news operations of the NBC-owned local stations.

    The presence of Lazarus and Anand Kini, who will be chief operating officer and chief financial officer of SpinCo, is a good sign for the new company, said Jessica Reif Ehrlich, research analyst for the Bank of America. "You can't dismiss it as getting rid of the crappy assets, because these are talented executives," she said.

    At MSNBC, questions about the future range from the... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment