As we get set for the Final Four this weekend, here are a few items you may be interested in.
Ratings are up despite all the blowouts. Maybe it’s the proliferation of Cinderellas like FGCU, LaSalle, and Wichita State, but the tournament is scoring its highest ratings in 19 years. So far, ratings are 11 percent higher than they were last year up to this point, and CBS’s ratings on Sunday were up 31% over last year.
Viewership is also up dramatically online. Turner Sports reported 45 million live streams, a whopping 158% higher than last year’s 18 million.
All-together, we’ve watched over twelve and a half million hours of hoops. And there’s still three games to go.
Now for some not-so-great news: it’s been rumored that CBS and Turner are discussing moving up TBS’ inaugural broadcast of the Final Four to next season. As part of the current TV deal, TBS is supposed to start airing the final three contests of the tourney in 2016, alternating with CBS at that point. But there’s a clause in the contract that allows for this date to be moved forward.
If it’s exercised, TBS will take over next April, which has some irony because this will almost certainly guarantee that the ratings gains mentioned above will reverse. TBS is a popular network, and there’s no doubt it’ll probably score its highest ratings ever, but it doesn’t have the reach of a major broadcast network like CBS.
There’s also the reality that, when it comes to college basketball, Turner Sports is essentially a carpetbagger. None of Turner’s nets carry a nanosecond of college hoops prior to the start of the tourney. That’s why its NBA on-air crew, Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Marv Albert, and Steve Kerr are suddenly integrated with the CBS announcers and have to pretend like they’ve been following the colleges all season.
In any case, whether it’s 2014 or 16, it’s happening. And it’s another blow to sports fans who can’t afford or choose not to subscribe to cable or satellite.
So enjoy the games on CBS this weekend and keep your fingers crossed they’re not blowouts. You may be watching them on TBS next year. Very funny…not.
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