The Champions Classic was no ratings disaster opposite the midterm elections, with Duke-Kentucky delivering a strong audience.
Duke-Kentucky earned 2.85 million viewers in the back half of Tuesday’s Champions Classic college basketball doubleheader, up 7% from last year (Kentucky-Kansas: 2.66M) and up 21% from 2016 (Kansas-Duke: 2.36M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Compared to previous Duke-Kentucky games in the Champions Classic, viewership fell 9% from their 2015 meeting (3.12M) and 6% from their matchup in 2012 (3.03M).
The lower numbers are no surprise. Duke won by 34 points and the game faced competition from midterm election results on broadcast and cable news.
Despite those obstacles, Tuesday’s game was the third-most watched Champions Classic telecast in the past five years. Only Duke-Kentucky in ’15 and Duke-Michigan State last year (2.97M) had a larger audience.
Earlier in the night, Michigan State-Kansas drew 2.00 million viewers — off a third from last year (Duke-Michigan State: 2.97M) and 4% from 2016 (Kentucky-Michigan State: 2.08M).
The last time a marquee sporting event took place on an election night was 2004. That year, the NBA scheduled its opening night opposite the presidential election results. TNT drew a 1.1 and 1.7 million for both Rockets-Pistons and Nuggets-Lakers.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 11.7]
