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ESPN TV Networks’ 602 Games Averages More Than 500,000 Viewers

Louisville Most-Viewed Market

ESPN’s extensive coverage of the 2012-13 men’s college basketball regular-season was the network’s most-viewed ever. For the season, ESPN averaged 1,370,000 viewers over 135 games, surpassing the previous high of 1,353,000 viewers over 130 telecasts in 2011-12. ESPN averaged a 1.1 coverage rating for each season.

Season’s Top Three Telecasts

ESPN scored this season’s three largest audiences for a college basketball game on the network within a month.

Then-No. 3 Indiana defeating No. 1 Michigan on February 2 is the most-viewed and highest-rated with an average of 4,035,000 viewers, a 2.9 coverage rating and 2,867,000 households.

Then-No. 1 Indiana beating No. 4 Michigan State on February 19 is the second-largest audience of the season with an average of 3,733,000 viewers, a 2.7 coverage rating and 2,677,000 households.

Then-No. 3 Duke defeating No. 5 Miami 79-76 on March 2 averaged 3,416,000 viewers, a 2.5 coverage rating and 2,459,000 households, making it the network’s third most-viewed and third highest-rated men’s college basketball game this season.

ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU’s 602 Games Average More Than 500,000 Viewers

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU’s 602 games for the 2012-13 season – the most extensive coverage on television and more than every network combined – averaged 508,000 total viewers.

Louisville Takes Top Spot… Again

For the 11th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro finished in second place for the second straight year with a 3.1 rating. In addition:

All 10 of last season’s top 10 metered markets finished the 2012-13 season among the top 10 again.

Louisville, Greensboro, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte remain the only markets to be among the top 10 every year since 2002-03. Additional markets in this season’s top 10 also finished among the top 10 in multiple years: Knoxville, ninth this season, has finished in the top 10 every year since 2003-04. Kansas City, the fifth highest rated market in 2012-13, was a top 10 market every season except 2008-09 and 2004-05. Indianapolis, fourth this season, was a top market in eight of the past 11 years (except 2010-11, 2004-05 and 2003-04)

Three markets were in the top 10 for basketball and college football in the most recent seasons: Columbus, tied at sixth in basketball was tied for fifth in football; Knoxville, tied for 10th in basketball was third in football; and Nashville, tied for 10th in basketball was ninth in football.

Eleven markets have been in the top five at least once from 2002-03 to 2012-13: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Raleigh-Durham. Louisville is the only market to go 11 for 11. Greensboro finished as a top-five market every season but when it was sixth in 2004-05. Indianapolis jumped from seventh in 2011-12 to fourth, finishing with a 2.9 rating for a 61 percent increase over last year’s 1.8 rating. Kansas City, which finished in the top three the past three years after not finishing in the top five the previous seven seasons, dropped to fifth. Columbus was in the top five the last four seasons straight but finished sixth in 2012-13.



Top 25 Markets for 2012-13 Top 25 Markets for 2011-12 No. 1 Louisville: 4.5 rating No. 1 Louisville: 4.5 rating No. 2 Greensboro: 3.1 rating No. 2 Greensboro: 3.5 rating No. 3 Raleigh-Durham: 3.0 rating No. 3 Kansas City: 2.8 rating No. 4 Indianapolis: 2.9 rating No. 4 Columbus: 2.7 rating No. 5 Kansas City: 2.7 rating Raleigh-Durham 2.7 rating No. 6 Cincinnati: 2.1 rating No. 6 Charlotte: 2.3 rating Columbus: 2.1 rating No. 7 Cincinnati: 2.1 rating No. 8 Dayton: 2.0 rating No. 8 Dayton: 2.0 rating No. 9 Charlotte: 1.8 rating No. 9 Indianapolis: 1.8 rating No. 10 Knoxville: 1.7 rating Knoxville: 1.8 rating Nashville: 1.7 rating No. 11 Memphis: 1.6 rating No. 12 Detroit: 1.6 rating Nashville: 1.6 rating No. 13 Birmingham: 1.5 rating No. 13 Greenville: 1.5 rating No. 14 Memphis: 1.3 rating No. 14 Cleveland: 1.4 rating Hartford & New Haven: 1.3 rating Birmingham: 1.4 rating Greenville: 1.3 rating Las Vegas: 1.4 rating Cleveland: 1.3 rating No. 17 Norfolk: 1.2 rating Norfolk: 1.3 rating Hartford and New Haven: 1.2 rating St. Louis: 1.3 rating St. Louis: 1.2 rating No. 20 Richmond: 1.2 rating No. 20 Fort Myers: 1.1 rating Las Vegas: 1.2 rating Atlanta: 1.1 rating No. 22 Fort Myers: 1.1 rating Richmond: 1.1 rating Milwaukee: 1.1 rating No. 23 Pittsburgh: 1.0 rating No. 24 Baltimore: 1.0 rating Detroit: 1.0 rating Tulsa: 1.0 rating Oklahoma City: 1.0 rating Atlanta: 1.0 rating Jacksonville: 1.0 rating Oklahoma City: 1.0 rating Tulsa: 1.0 rating

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