The second night of the NCAA men’s “First Four” topped the sports viewership charts for Wednesday, March 20.
Wednesday’s Colorado-Boise State NCAA men’s basketball tournament “First Four” game averaged 1.78 million viewers on truTV, up 30% from Arizona State-Nevada last year (1.38M) and the most-watched game of this year’s play-in round. The Buffaloes’ win was also the most-watched sporting event of the day.
Earlier in the day, Grambling-Montana State averaged 1.45 million — up 35% from Fairleigh Dickinson-Texas Southern last year (1.08M).
Overall, the men’s “First Four” averaged a combined 6.18 million viewers on truTV — up 14% from last year’s 5.41 million. CBS and Turner treat the “First Four” as a single television window.
In the women’s “First Four,” Vanderbilt-Columbia averaged 153,000 on ESPNU, followed by Presbyterian-Sacred Heart at 149,000. Figures for last year’s games were not immediately available.
Shifting to the pros, ESPN averaged 1.39 million for Bucks-Celtics and 1.24 million for Grizzlies-Warriors in an NBA regular season doubleheader — down 22 and 27 percent respectively from the same night last year, when there was no NCAA Tournament competition (Warriors-Mavericks: 1.80M; Suns-Lakers: 1.70M).
Returning to college action, ESPN2 averaged 343,000 for an NIT doubleheader, down 20% from 431,000 last year. In particular, VCU-Villanova drew 356,000 — down 34% from Virginia Tech-Cincinnati last year (543K) — and Saint Joseph’s-Seton Hall led in with 331,000 (+3%).
Beyond the hardwood, the Major League Baseball season opened with 350,000 for ESPN’s early morning Padres-Dodgers game from Seoul, South Korea. Compared to the previous overseas season opener — Mariners-A’s from Tokyo in 2019, also on ESPN — viewership nearly doubled from 187,000.
TNT averaged 253,000 for an NHL regular season doubleheader, down 19% from last year (314K). Maple Leafs-Capitals averaged 331,000 — down 29% from Penguins-Avalanche last year (462K) — and Wild-Kings 179,000 (+19%).
Miami Open tennis topped out at 145,000 for Andy Murray’s win over Matteo Berrettini.
Wednesday, March 20 sports ratings
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Original chart below:
