Two of college basketball’s best-known teams delivered on the court and in the ratings over the weekend.
North Carolina-Kentucky scored an 8.9 final rating and 15.5 million viewers in Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on CBS, up 53% in ratings and viewership from North Carolina-Notre Dame on TBS last year, which aired in a later window (5.3, 10.1M) and flat and up 5% respectively from Duke-Gonzaga in 2015 (8.9, 14.7M).
Compared to the previous Kentucky-UNC regional final in 2011, ratings were flat and viewership increased 3% compared to an 8.9 and 15.1 million.
The Tar Heels’ last second-win, which peaked with 22.1 million viewers in the fast-nationals, was the most-watched regional final since Louisville-Duke in 2013 (15.6M) and the second-most watched since Michigan State-Kentucky in 2005 (17.9M).
The 8.9 rating tied Duke-Gonzaga in ’15, Kentucky-Michigan in 2014 and Kentucky-UNC in ’11 as the highest for a regional final since the MSU-Kentucky in ’05 (10.4).
The full Elite Eight averaged a 6.0 rating and 10.2 million viewers in the fast-nationals, up 11% from last year (5.4, 9.2M) but down 17% and 16% respectively from 2015 (7.0, 12.1M).
Entering the Final Four, the NCAA Tournament is averaging a 6.0 and 9.8 million viewers — up 9% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (5.5, 8.9M) and down 5% and about even with 2015 (6.3, 9.8M). This year’s tournament ranks as the third-most watched since 1993.
(Numbers from CBS/Turner Sports, with additional info from ShowBuzz Daily 3.28)
