The final game of Elite Eight weekend matched a 10-year high in TV ratings.
Last Sunday’s Duke/Gonzaga NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game drew an 8.9 final rating and 14.7 million viewers on CBS, even in ratings and up 1% in viewership from Kentucky/Michigan last year (8.9, 14.6M) and up 1% and down 6%, respectively, from Louisville/Duke in 2013 (8.8, 15.6M).
The 8.9 rating matches Kentucky/Michigan last year and Kentucky/North Carolina in 2011 as the highest for an Elite Eight game since Michigan State/Kentucky in 2005 (10.4).
The Blue Devils’ win was obviously the highest rated game of Elite Eight weekend, topping Kentucky/Notre Dame on TBS the previous night by 6% in ratings (8.9 to 8.4). It was not the most-watched, however, trailing the Wildcats’ close shave by the slimmest of margins (14.746M to 14.747M). Keep in mind that the Kentucky game aired on a Saturday night on cable, while the Duke game had the best timeslot of the weekend — Sunday evening on broadcast.
This marks the first time since 2003 that the late Sunday window was not the most-watched of Elite Eight weekend. That year, when NCAA Tournament coverage was disrupted by the Iraq War, the late Saturday window (Arizona/Kansas) earned 10.2 million and the late Sunday window (Texas/Michigan State) drew 9.7 million.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily)
