After the first weekend of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, CBS's ratings for its coverage are running nine percent behind last year.
On its coverage of games through the second round of the tournament, CBS has averaged a 5.2 rating, 13 share in all TV households in Nielsen fast national numbers. That compares to a 5.7/14 at the same stage of last year's tourney, which ultimately produced a 10% drop in ratings from the previous year's event.
In opening round action, CBS averaged 7.7 million viewers for games shown in primetime on Friday and 9.6 million viewers for second round games on Saturday night.
Last year's overall average national rating for the entire tournament was a 6.4. The NCAA ratings have been sliding steadily over the past decade. - Richard Tedesco
