Sunday's action was fierce at the various sites around the
country and viewers embraced the Madness, with Turner Sports and CBS Sports
improving each of the four windows from last year, which helped make the first
week of the 2013 NCAA Tournament the most-viewed in 20 years.
TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV combined to average 8.9 million
through five days of coverage through March 24, according to Nielsen Fast
Nationals data. That was the most since 1993 and up 9% from last year's 8.2
million.
Sunday's coverage -- which included the high-flying
tournament darlings, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, the first No. 15 seed to
make in to the tourney's Sweet 16 -- averaged 11.1 million viewers, up 29% from
last year's 8.6 million, making it the most-watched first Sunday in 15 years
On March 24, each of the four telecast windows
grew from their 2012 counterpart's, with the initial daytime window ahead 39%
and the second up 26%. The first primetime window scored a 27% gain, with the
final window ahead 4% from the corresponding period in the 2012 tourney.
