Despite the presence of one of the marquee programs in college basketball, overnight ratings for the National Championship game dropped for the second straight year.
North Carolina’s thumping of Michigan State in the National Championship game drew an 11.9/19 overnight rating on CBS Monday, down 7% from a 12.8/20 for Kansas/Memphis last year, and down 13% from a 13.6/22 in ’07.
The 11.9 overnight is the lowest for the National Championship Game since Florida/UCLA drew an 11.7 in ’06, and marks the third-lowest overnight ever for the game.
Compared to the last time the Tar Heels played in the title game, the 11.9 overnight is off 26%.
North Carolina’s dominance in the title game likely contributed to the lower ratings. Ratings peaked usually early, at a 12.8/19 during the 9:30-10 PM half-hour. To put that in perspective, last year’s overtime tilt between Kansas and Memphis peaked at a 14.7 from 11:30 PM-midnight.
Despite the near-record low number, the overnight compares favorably to other sporting events. The 11.9 surpasses an 8.0 for the Daytona 500 in February, an 8.9 for last year’s final round of The Masters, every game of last year’s World Series, four of last year’s six NBA Finals games and three of the five BCS telecasts in January.
Lowest overnight ratings for National Championship Game.
