A top 25 matchup for the West Coast Conference title topped the sports viewership charts for Tuesday, March 12.
Tuesday’s St. Mary’s-Gonzaga WCC Tournament final averaged 1.14 million viewers on ESPN, up 31% from the same matchup last year (869K) and the most-watched edition of the game in three years. The Gaels’ win also delivered the top sports audience of the day, topping TNT’s competing NBA doubleheader.
Speaking of which, Sixers-Knicks averaged a combined 1.07 million viewers across TNT (973K) and truTV (98K), followed by Timberwolves-Clippers at 992,000 (877K on TNT, 115K on truTV), placing second and third respectively for the night. TNT did not carry any games on the same Tuesday night last year.
Returning to the college game, ESPN averaged 513,000 for the Oakland-Milwaukee Horizon League Tournament final — up from Northern Kentucky-Cleveland State last year (460K). The Texas-Iowa State Big 12 women’s basketball final drew 336,000 on ESPN2, down slightly from the same matchup on a Sunday afternoon last year (343K). The Wagner-Merrimack men’s NEC Tournament final led in with 197,000, up sharply from Fairleigh Dickinson-Merrimack a year ago (122K). A Montana-Idaho State Big Sky tournament game rounded out the night with 119,000.
Further down the dial, Indian Wells tennis topped out at 241,000 for Jannik Sinner’s straight-set win over Ben Shelton. NFL Network free agency coverage topped out a 166,000 for the Noon ET hour. A Concacaf Champions League match between MLS Orlando City and Liga MX Tigres UNAL averaged a combined 223,000 viewers across TUDN (139K) and FS1 (84K). FS1 also drew 130,000 for MLS Philadelphia against Liga MX Pachucha and 67,000 for an all-MLS Columbus-Houston match.
Tuesday, March 12 sports ratings
Updated chart:
Original chart below:
