CBS saw a boost in ratings for Butler’s final victory of the season.
Saturday’s Butler/Michigan St. game drew an 8.6/19 final rating and 14.5 million viewers on CBS, up 10% in ratings and 15% in viewership from Michigan St./Connecticut last year (7.8/17, 12.6 mil), up 19% and 23%, respectively from Memphis/UCLA in ’08 (7.2/16, 11.8 mil), and up 2% and 9%, respectively, from Ohio St./Georgetown in ’07 (8.4/18, 13.2 mil).
The 8.6/19 rating is the highest for the early National Semifinal since George Mason/Florida in ’06 (9.1/19).
Because the game began before the start of primetime, it was not included in the weekly primetime rankings. If the game had been included, it would have ranked as the fifth most-viewed program of the week, just behind Duke/West Virginia (15.8 mil).
Of the 24 National Semifinal telecasts since ’99, Butler/Michigan St. is the 9th-lowest rated.
UPDATED 4/6/10: Correction, the game drew an 8.6 final rating, not an 8.5.
