2013 NCAA Tournament Delivers Most-Watched First Thursday in 22 Years

CBS Sports and Turner Sports' exclusive second-round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21 combined to deliver the most-viewed (8.1 MM) first Thursday of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.

Thursday's coverage earned a Fast National HH rating/share of a 5.5/12, +4% vs. last year's 5.3/13, the highest average rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 19 years (5.6/14; 1994).

The 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date, including the First Four, is averaging a 5.0/11, +6% from last year's 4.7/11, and is tied with the highest-to-date rating since 2006 (5.0/11).

Overall, the 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date is the most-watched in 20 years (1993). The First Four and Thursday's coverage averaged 7.4 million viewers, +7% vs. 6.9 million viewers last year.

- The first telecast window of the day combined to earn a 4.0/13, +14% vs. last year's 3.5/13.

- The second telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.1/13, +6% vs. last year's 4.8/13.

- The third telecast window of the day combined to earn a 7.1/12, +11% vs. last year's 6.4/12.

- The fourth telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.9/11, vs. last year's 6.4/12.

Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/13 to 03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12. 2013, 2012 and 2011 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2012 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.

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