Despite attracting fewer viewers than last year, the ACC Tournament final still delivered college basketball’s largest audience of the season.
Saturday’s Virginia-North Carolina ACC Tournament final earned a 2.0 rating and 3.44 million viewers on ESPN, flat in ratings but down 7% in viewership from last year (Duke-Notre Dame: 2.0, 3.7M), which was the most-watched title game in the past 20 years. Figures include TV and streaming viewership.
The Cavaliers’ win ranks as the third-most watched ACC title game in the past 20 years — since UNC-Duke in 1998 — behind last year and 2015 (Notre Dame-UNC: 3.5M).
It also delivered the largest college basketball audience of the season, topping the previous high set by Duke-UNC the previous week (3.37M). Five of the top ten games involved an ACC team, and four of those were intra-conference matchups. Only the Big Ten had as many appearances in the top ten.
Saturday’s game tied for second in ratings, with Michigan-Ohio State in January holding the top spot (2.1).
In the key young adult demographics, ratings increased slightly in adults 18-49 (1.12, +3%) and adults 25-54 (1.20, +1%) but declined in adults 18-34 (1.00, -8%).
Head-to-head, the ACC championship comfortably topped ABC’s Spurs-Thunder NBA game (1.4, 2.2M).
Highest College Basketball Ratings, Viewership, of Season
| TV+streaming viewership in parentheses | ||||
| Date | Game | Net | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
| 3/10 | UVA-UNC ACC Champ. |
ESPN | 2.0 | (3.44M) |
| 3/3 | UNC-Duke | ESPN | 2.0 | (3.37M) |
| 1/6 | MSU-Ohio St. | CBS | 2.1 | 3.30M |
| 3/4 | Michigan-Purdue B10 Champ. |
CBS | 2.0 | 3.18M |
| 1/27 | UVA-Duke | CBS | 2.0 | 3.04M |
| 11/14 | Duke-MSU | ESPN | 1.8 | (2.97M) |
| 1/13 | NWU-Indiana | CBS | 1.9 | 2.88M |
| 3/10 | KU-WVU B12 Champ. |
ESPN | 1.7 | (2.85M) |
| 3/9 | UNC-Duke ACC Semi. |
ESPN | 1.7 | (2.82M) |
| 3/3 | Michigan-MSU B10 Semi. |
CBS | 1.7 | 2.67M |
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.14]
