Turner Networks Score With 'Final Four' Championship Game Ratings
History was made Monday night as the NCAA Final Four Championship game aired on cable…and people tuned into watch.
The game, which literally came down to the buzzer, was viewed by 17.8 million people across three of Turner's (Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX)) cable networks – TNT, TBS and TruTV. The championship game rotates between Turner and CBS as part of the pair's joint bid for the games that went into effect a few years ago.
Last year's game, which aired on CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS), netted 28.3 million viewers, which is more in line with what programming on the big four networks earn. However what worked in Turner's favor was the network's ability to have "team-streams," where each team had a dedicated feed tailored to that team's audience.
While TBS' telecast played it down the middle, TNT and TruTV each picked a side, which gave audiences something new and different. The game at one point peaked at 22.3 million, which was more than any previous college basketball game on cable.
Not surprisingly, the game was also the most watched show on all of TV on Monday night.
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