Loyola-Chicago’s underdog run is paying off for CBS and Turner, with the Ramblers latest win scoring the weekend’s biggest jump in Elite Eight ratings.
Saturday’s Loyola-Kansas State NCAA Tournament regional semifinal had a 4.4 and 7.8 million, up 21% in ratings and 29% in viewership from last year (Gonzaga-Xavier: 3.7, 6.0M). Compared to 2016 on CBS (Oklahoma-Oregon), ratings fell 4% (from 4.6) but viewership increased 1% (from 7.7M).
The Ramblers’ win trails only Wisconsin-Arizona in 2015 (8.8M) as the most-watched early Saturday Elite Eight game since 2011 (Butler-Florida: 9.2M).
It posted the biggest increase of Elite Eight weekend. The three other games were either down or up by less than 5 percent. That does come with a caveat; last year’s comparable game hit a historic low.
So far, Loyola’s underdog run has been a healthy TV draw. Three of the Ramblers’ first four tournament games have posted an increase in ratings and viewership, each by double-digits. The lone exception was their win over Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen. That game fell just 1% from last year, when coverage featured higher-profile Michigan.
Of the 60 other NCAA Tournament games this year, fewer than 40 percent have posted an increase in either measure.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.27]
