Kentucky Likely To Continue Record-Breaking TV Numbers
Bryan Altman, CBS Local Sports
If you think Kentucky's magical and seemingly unstoppable run is just making Ashley Judd and the rest of the rabid Wildcat fan base smile you are severely mistaken. TV executives at CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV and the NCAA are seeing record viewer numbers this March and a big part of that is coming from the possibility of witnessing the undefeated Wildcats complete the perfect season for the first time since the Indiana Hoosiers did it in 1976.
At 37-0 the Wildcats faced their stiffest test of the season against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this past weekend in a game that they wound up winning 68-66 thanks to sophomore guard Andrew Harrison's two free throws with time expiring. According to Forbes, with an 8.4/16 household rating and 14.7 million total viewers, the game was not just the highest rated NCAA game to ever air on cable, but it was the highest rated program in the history of TBS.
The game continued an extremely strong viewing trend for March Madness this year and according to Forbes it is the highest average viewership that the NCAA and the networks have seen since 1993.
Not only have the live broadcasts on networks such as CBS and TBS been a rousing success but Forbes also reported that the NCAA's live-streaming component, NCAA March Madness Live, is on track to be up big from last year's numbers as well.
Forbes stated that "The games on Saturday delivered a record-setting 5.2 million live video streams and 1.2 million live hours, up 92 percent and 67 percent, respectively."
In addition to the incredible ratings that have been delivered so far, the new era of social media has also been a boon for the NCAA Tournament this year. According to the NCAA, "The NCAA Tournament has grossed a record 166 million total social impressions across Facebook and Twitter through the second Thursday for a 36% increase over 2014."
As good as the numbers have been, with Kentucky edging out the Fighting Irish the numbers for the NCAA's upcoming Final Four weekend promise to be some of the biggest yet.
The Wildcats are set to take on the No. 1 seeded Wisconsin Badgers who bested the Arizona Wildcats to win the West Region and return to their second consecutive Final Four and a chance to avenge last year's Final Four loss to these same Kentucky Wildcats.
At the time it aired last year the Final Four matchup between the Badgers and the Wildcats was the most watched game in cable TV history, grossing 16.3 million viewers based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. This year with a rematch between those two teams and a record-setting precedent already in place after this weekend's games, the sky seems to be the limit for the Wildcats both on the court and in the ratings record books.
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