NCAA tournament upsets have yet to hurt TV ratings
If the upsets continue this weekend in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament, Tiger Woods’ return to golf at the Masters might not come soon enough for CBS.
With the early exits of several of the tournament’s top teams, including Georgetown, Villanova, overall No. 1-seeded Kansas and, now, Syracuse, the television ratings for this weekend’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds could turn sour if either of the two remaining No. 1-seeded schools — Kentucky and Duke — should fall.
So far, the tournament’s ratings haven’t been bad. Saturday’s games had an overall rating of 6.3 and averaged 10.378 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Co. And despite Kansas’ loss Saturday to Northern Iowa, Sunday’s numbers were higher — 6.8 and 10.889. The ratings for the Thursday and Friday games last week were comparable.
A breakdown by region — especially from the West Coast, where viewership was expected to be tepid because only Washington and St. Mary’s had advanced to the third round — was not immediately available from Nielsen.
To add an edge, the notion that Kentucky, Duke or Syracuse would have an easier time getting to the Final Four with Kansas out of the way was tempered by a report in the Wall Street Journal this week that said, “based on a study of all tournament upsets since 1985, No. 1 seeds don’t perform any better than expected when there is bracket chaos. The statistical correlation between the number of upsets and No. 1 seeds is nearly insignificant.”
CBS wouldn’t mind one Cinderella at the Final Four ball, but too many could spoil the ratings party.
Bulldog in the house
ESPN will have a bulldog in its baseball broadcast booth this season when Orel Hershiser joins Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on “Sunday Night Baseball” beginning April 4, when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox open the season at Fenway Park.
In a conference call with reporters this week, Miller said the pairing of Hershiser with Morgan would bring depth and insight.
“First of all, there’s contrast in their voices and in their points of view,” said Miller, who is entering his 21st year as a play-by-play man with ESPN. “Orel is a Cy Young pitcher and Joe is a Hall of Fame second baseman. Joe knows pitching and Orel knows hitting.”
He added that for the audience, “It should be the best of both worlds.”
ESPN also will bring in Nomar Garciaparra occasionally on “Wednesday Night Baseball,” teaming him with regulars Dave O’Brien and Rick Sutcliffe. The network will broadcast six opening-day games April 5, including the Angels’ home debut against the Minnesota Twins at 7 p.m.
Weekend picks
Friday: The Lakers continue their trip with a stop in Oklahoma City to play the Thunder. The tipoff is at 5 p.m. on Channel 9.
Chivas USA opens the Major League Soccer season with a match against the Colorado Rapids at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 56. ESPN will televise the New York Red Bulls- Chicago Fire match at 4 p.m. Saturday. Next Thursday night at 8, the Galaxy-Chivas USA match will be on ESPN2.
Saturday: NBC and USA Network go to the post for the series “Road to the Kentucky Derby,” which premieres Saturday at 2 p.m. on USA with two graded stakes races, the Louisiana Derby from New Orleans and the Lane’s End Stakes in Florence, Ky. Both races will feature thoroughbreds competing for a chance to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 1. The series will continue April 3 with the Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial, followed April 10 by the Arkansas Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes. Tom Hammond will host Saturday’s one-hour show with Gary Stevens.
The third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational tees off at 11:30 a.m. on Channel 4 (same time and station on Sunday) and early-round matches of the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament start at 5 p.m. on Prime Ticket.
In hockey, the Kings are home against the Dallas Stars at 7:30 p.m. on FS West.
Sunday: It’s an early call for NASCAR Sprint Cup stock-car racing as Channel 11 revs up at 9 a.m. for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. There’s more racing at 12:30 p.m. on Channel 7 with the IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Boston Celtics play the San Antonio Spurs in an attractive NBA matchup on ESPN at 5 p.m.
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