Upon further review: NCAA TV ratings better with Cinderellas

by **MVCfans** » March 24th, 2014, 3:47 pm

This study debunks the notion that NCAA TV ratings are better when "name" programs are playing. Quite the opposite, in fact.

According to a new study by BYU statistics professor Scott Grimshaw, that whole notion is totally wrong.

Turns out, people happen to really like Cinderella stories! And that's not just them saying so before sneaking off to watch more Anthony Davis highlights. Those people vote with their feet. According to Grimshaw's findings, which he based on 10 years of Nielsen TV ratings in 56 American markets:
... "a NCAA Men’s Final Four game featuring a Cinderella team, or an underdog from a smaller school, will have a 35 percent larger TV audience than a game featuring two national powerhouse schools. That 35 percent jump translates to 3 million more viewers for a semifinal game and 4.5 million more for the championship game."

That is a huge leap. There's more:
The jump in ratings is even bigger when two Cinderella teams face off in the Final Four. Nearly 11 million households tuned in when Virginia Commonwealth met Butler in a 2011 semifinal game. Without their respective Cinderella labels, the model predicted an audience of only 6.4 million.

Although a championship game featuring two Cinderella teams hasn’t happened yet, Grimshaw’s model extrapolates that it would result in an 81 percent larger audience.

So much for the "everyone hated the 2011 Final Four" meme, huh? Sheesh.

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by **RoyalShock** » March 24th, 2014, 8:53 pm

Casual fans are tired of seeing a rotation of the same jerseys every year. New blood makes it interesting.

The WSU-UK game got a 7.9 rating yesterday. That's the highest rating for a round of 32 game since 1992.

by **m-v-c** » March 24th, 2014, 9:27 pm

This is the dirty little story the BCS conferences, the TV networks and the media themselves don't want anyone to hear, because it goes against the narrative they've preferred for so long. The 'novelty' of an underdog captures a lot of people's attention, and as Royal said, people like to see fresh faces far more than those blinded by the big money conferences want to think. Similar ratings info has been proven in college bowl games, the N. Illinois/FSU Orange Bowl drew a better rating than the Florida/Louisville Sugar Bowl last year Jan., despite there supposedly being nobody interested in watching NIU. The truth of this is something that should get out far more than it does, unfortunately.