• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 16, 2011

With the NCAA tournament launching Tuesday on truTV, some found themselves questioning whether they had the channel. Still, enough found it to yield ratings higher than the opening game a year ago.

In the Tuesday opener -- UNC Asheville vs. Arkansas-Litte Rock -- truTV averaged a1.2 million viewers -- about 150,000 more than ESPN did a year ago, according to early figures. The household rating of 0.8 was the same.

The lineup is different this year, given the new tournament format. In past years, ESPN aired a sole play-in game before a field of 64 began play. Now, there are effective "play-in" doubleheaders on Tuesday and Wednesday, both on truTV.

The second game on truTV on Tuesday, featuring higher-seeded Clemson and UAB, improved on game one with an average of 1.35 million viewers and a 0.9 household rating.

Turner is counting on the NCAA games to give truTV a lift, both among viewers and in affiliate fees in coming negotiations. It should benefit from continued promotion on CBS, TNT and TBS.