THE 2011 NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ON CBS, TBS, TNT AND truTV SCORES HIGHEST OVERNIGHT RATINGS IN 20 YEARS FOR FIRST FRIDAY

OVERALL TOURNAMENT AVERAGE UP 22% OVER 2010

CBS Sports' and Turner Sports' exclusive second-round coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Friday, March 18 combined to deliver an overnight household rating/share of 5.9/14 up 31% from a 4.5/11 for CBS Sports' 2010 coverage, according to Nielsen.

The 5.9/14 was the highest rating for the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament in the metered markets since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day.

The overall tournament average-to-date, including the FIRST FOUR, in the metered market is a 5.6/13, up +22% from a 4.6/11 over CBS Sports' 2010 coverage. The 5.6/13 is the highest tournament-to-date rating at this point since 1991 when the Tournament expanded to four telecast windows on Thursday and Friday.

The first telecast window of the day (12:00 NOON-4:45 PM, ET) combined to earn a 4.7/15, up +62% from a 2.9/10 last year.

The second window of the day (3:00-7:00 PM, ET) delivered a 5.7/15, up +54% from a 3.7/11 last year.

The third telecast window of the day (7:00-9:30 PM, ET) delivered a 6.8/14, up +24% from a 5.5/11 in 2010.

Each of the first three windows delivered the highest rating in its window in the metered markets since the Tournament expanded to the four telecast window in 1991.

The final window of the day (9:15 PM-12:45 AM, ET) earned a 6.5/12, up +12% from a 5.8/11 last year.