Despite a matchup of non-traditional, defensive teams, college basketball’s national championship held up well in the overnight ratings.
Monday’s Virginia-Texas Tech NCAA Tournament national championship game earned a 12.4 overnight rating on CBS, up 20% from Villanova-Michigan on TBS, TNT and TruTV last year (10.3), and down 14% from North Carolina-Gonzaga on CBS in 2017 (14.5).
The 12.4 is the seventh-lowest overnight on record for the national championship, but ranks ahead of more prominent matchups such as Kentucky-Kansas in 2012 (12.1) and North Carolina-Michigan State in 2009 (11.9).
The Cavaliers’ win, the first title game to go to overtime since Kansas-Memphis in 2008 (12.8), peaked at a 15.0 from 11:30-11:45 PM ET.
Virginia markets Richmond (31.3) and Norfolk (23.4) led all markets Monday night, with host market Minneapolis-St. Paul ranking third (23.3). Louisville was fourth (23.2) and Kansas City rounded out the top five (21.1).
Compared to other sports, Virginia-Texas Tech earned a higher overnight than two of last year’s four NBA Finals games and every game of last year’s World Series. It was no match for college football’s Clemson-Alabama national championship, which had a 14.6.
The complete NCAA Tournament averaged a combined 7.1 rating across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV in the metered markets, up 11% from last year (6.4) but down a tick from 2017 (7.2).
Historical overnight ratings for NCAA men’s basketball title game
[Numbers from CBS/Turner]
