College Basketball apparently not dead??

[djcon57]

March Madness sets viewership record through first weekend

CBS Sports and TNT Sports set a 32-year viewership record through the first weekend of this year's March Madness tournament.

awfulannouncing.com

I admit, I barely watched, but maybe I'm just not the target audience anymore and thats ok?

Clearly despite everyone saying college sports is dead every year, it's not. I'm sure CBS and Turner are thrilled

 

[phil77]

People bet a lot of money on the tournament and watch a lot of games

 

[Scooch]

No one likes to admit this...

Power conference teams have larger fan bases. When they win, more people watch.

 

[althea]

I think I watched more first weekend games this year than I have in many years.

 

[djcon57]

No one likes to admit this...

Power conference teams have larger fan bases. When they win, more people watch.

Yep. It's the "no one wants to watch the Celtics vs Lakers again, we want the Cavs vs OKC" myth.

 

[stuckinbig11]

I did not watch much.

 

[Newhouser]

People always under estimate the power of gambling to draw viewers, especially when you add in the small change bracket player.

 

[Dcuse]

My call for boycott didn't catch on.

 

[CardiacCuse]

People always under estimate the power of gambling to draw viewers, especially when you add in the small change bracket player.

i guess gambling is the driver of the higher ratings

it certainly isnt upsets

will be interesting to see if the current trend of winning consolidated in the p4 conferences continues...i assume it will...and if that continues for 3, 4, 5 seasons etc and public perception catches up to reality...it would create an interesting dynamic for betting and for viewership

something similar to champions league soccer in europe where you know who is going to win almost all of the early stage matches...and the hierarchy of teams is much more solidified than it has been histroically

for me personally, the big cache of the ncaat is that the cinderella stories and upsets that happen and the overall drama...but maybe people dont really care about that anymore as long as they can make money betting on the games...

 

[PauliePeppas]

courtesy of mr fanduel and draftkings

 

[Forloveoforange]

Since gambling is considered a sickness in some ways, you wouldn't think it would be that much of an influencer. There must be an epidemic.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

10 minutes total, then I remembered Reacher dropped.

 

[OrangeFoo]

If we had the program we had a decade ago I would be as tuned into college hoops as I was a decade ago. The whole nil thing doesn’t help, but again with a good team I would take the time to learn their names and games each year. Sport is fun, march madness is peak fun… but it takes a lot away when your team stink.

i gave up on the nfl for the 15 years they wandered the desert… but now that Josh is there, I watch random games without the bills again In addition to most bills games and I follow relentlessl.

 

[CA Monk]

What astonishes me is that last year the women's final rating obliterated the men's.
As per NPR:

The final game, between South Carolina's Gamecocks and the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes, averaged about 18.7 million viewers and peaked at a whopping 24 million combined on ESPN and ABC, making it the first time in history that a women's final has drawn a larger TV audience than the men's, according to ESPN.
In contrast, the victory of the men's Division 1 UConn Huskies over Purdue averaged 14.82 million on TBS and TNT.​

I know Caitlin Clark etc. And it didn't help that the men's final started at 9:20 EDT

 

[Cusefan95]

No one likes to admit this...

Power conference teams have larger fan bases. When they win, more people watch.

I've travelled for work to the southeast for 30 years. I'd describe the fan interest as "casual" 30 years ago. With the SEC turning into a basketball power, the level of interest skyrocketed - a site I was at last week had games on the TV in their lounge (which I'd never seen in previous years). I'd be interested to see how ratings are in the southeast compared to historical levels - my guess is that gambling is stabilizing viewership in most of the country and big gains are being made in the southeast.

 

[UnknownOrange]

The KenPom Top 8 have the chance to all advance to the elite 8. Would be an incredible elite 8 if so

Duke
Houston
Florida
Auburn
Tennessee
Alabama
Michigan State
Texas Tech

15 of the Sweet 16 are within the top 24. 16th is Arkansas at 36

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I'm entirely a selfish fan when it comes to the tournament. When Syracuse isn't in it, I don't watch.

I used to. But now that I'm a dad and working stiff it's just not a priority.

 

[Millhouse]

No one likes to admit this...

Power conference teams have larger fan bases. When they win, more people watch.

I learned that from all those buffalo sabres kept getting shown on NBC sports despite being a joke franchise, it didn't matter that they were terrible and no one casual wanted to watch, they had fans and that swamped any casual interest lost

 

[littlereg]

Yep. It's the "no one wants to watch the Celtics vs Lakers again, we want the Cavs vs OKC" myth.

What’s funny is it was up last year as well. It went up 4% more this year than last years 3% that it rose from the year before. Apparently though Nielsen expanded their cover to reach 100% of markets instead of 2/3 like it used to be so I wonder what role that places in this year increase. I doubt it’s the whole thing as the field of 68 has talked about their YouTube viewership being up like 67% year to year, 900k views on their selection Sunday show which was double of the year before. So there’s evidence of it being natural not just from the bump in emulation from Nielsen.

 

[Jasoncuse]

What astonishes me is that last year the women's final rating obliterated the men's.
As per NPR:

The final game, between South Carolina's Gamecocks and the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes, averaged about 18.7 million viewers and peaked at a whopping 24 million combined on ESPN and ABC, making it the first time in history that a women's final has drawn a larger TV audience than the men's, according to ESPN.
In contrast, the victory of the men's Division 1 UConn Huskies over Purdue averaged 14.82 million on TBS and TNT.​

I know Caitlin Clark etc. And it didn't help that the men's final started at 9:20 EDT

Having ABC/ESPN vs TBS/TNT probably also played a part.

But Clark was the draw for sure.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Being retired, I watched non stop from noon everyday until late evening. A lot of good basketball.

 

[Scooch]

What’s funny is it was up last year as well. It went up 4% more this year than last years 3% that it rose from the year before. Apparently though Nielsen expanded their cover to reach 100% of markets instead of 2/3 like it used to be so I wonder what role that places in this year increase. I doubt it’s the whole thing as the field of 68 has talked about their YouTube viewership being up like 67% year to year, 900k views on their selection Sunday show which was double of the year before. So there’s evidence of it being natural not just from the bump in emulation from Nielsen.

That change in Nielsen coverage is specifically about Out of Home measurement.

And the dirty little secret about Nielsen’s Out of Home measurement is that much of it is actually viewing “guest” viewing in homes. A much smaller share is coming from bars, restaurants, gyms, etc.

Regardless, the increases are likely organic, not methodological.

 

[orangepassion]

Between Syracuse not being involved and the teams changing over every year, I have definitely watched the Tournament significantly less in recent years.

 

[littlereg]

That change in Nielsen coverage is specifically about Out of Home measurement.

And the dirty little secret about Nielsen’s Out of Home measurement is that much of it is actually viewing “guest” viewing in homes. A much smaller share is coming from bars, restaurants, gyms, etc.

Regardless, the increases are likely organic, not methodological.

I was more talking about it’s funny that it went up last year almost just as much with less attention on the matter. All the focus was on the women’s tournament last year, something you think may have naturally affected the men’s numbers but it didn’t and you’re seeing that proven with this years rise.

But yeah I agree it’s likely mostly organically just curious how much the Nielsen change actually impacts

 

[Scooch]

I was more talking about it’s funny that it went up last year almost just as much with less attention on the matter. All the focus was on the women’s tournament last year, something you think may have naturally affected the men’s numbers but it didn’t and you’re seeing that proven with this years rise.

But yeah I agree it’s likely mostly organically just curious how much the Nielsen change actually impacts

My hunch is that the tourney being available on Max is a help. That’s like 40 million subscribers that don’t need cable to watch the games on TNT, TBS and truTV. Plus the awareness of the March Madness Live app helps as well.