Media Release

Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ Coverage of 2019 NCAA Tournament Continues to Deliver Significant Audience Increases Across All Platforms

NCAA March Madness

Tournament-to-Date Coverage Ties for Third Highest-Rated in 26 Years, Up 8% vs. 2018

NCAA March Madness Live Sets All-Time Records in Live Streams and Live Hours

Regional Finals Coverage Across CBS and TBS Delivers Second Highest-Rating in Eight Years with Increases Across All Four Game Windows, Including a 10.5 M.M. Rating for Michigan St./Duke

CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ coverage of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship continues to deliver strong numbers across all platforms. 

Live game coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV is averaging a 6.7/15 HH rating/share in the metered markets, tied for the third-highest rating through the Regional Finals in 26 years. The 6.7/15 HH rating is up 8% over last year (6.2/13), based on Nielsen metered market delivery.

NCAA March Madness Live has set all-time records in live streams and live hours of consumption for the NCAA Tournament to date, with both seeing increases of 30% or more through the Regional Finals.  MML has also set daily records in live hours (eight times) and live streams (five times).

This weekend’s Regional Finals across TBS and CBS (7.2/15) generated the second highest-rating for the Elite Eight since 2011, with increases across all four game windows:

  • Sunday’s Michigan St./Duke game (10.5/21) produced the highest metered market delivery for the game window in 14 years, up 4% vs. 2018
  • Sunday’s Auburn/Kentucky (+15%) and Saturday’s Virginia/Purdue (+14%) and Texas Tech/Gonzaga (+2%) telecasts all showed lifts vs. last year’s same coverage

Official NCAA March Madness social accounts have produced a 117% increase in engagements vs. last year’s Tournament to date through Sunday (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Linear TV Source:  Nielsen Media Research, metered market data for the 2019 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV through the Regional Finals, compared historical NCAA Tournament through 1991. Digital Source:  Conviva

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