The 2013-14 college basketball regular season generated record numbers on ESPN.
ESPN averaged a 1.0 U.S. rating and 1.45 million viewers for men’s college basketball coverage during the 2014-15 season, up 11% in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year (0.9, 1.37M), and up 11% and 7%, respectively, from 2011-12 (0.9, 1.35M). The numbers do not include Championship Week. [Game-by-game viewership for college basketball available here.]
The 2013-14 season ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed ever on ESPN. The network’s top game of the season was Duke/Syracuse on February 1 (2.9, 4.7M). Michigan St./Kentucky in November ranked second in ratings (2.6), and the Syracuse/Duke rematch in February ranked second in viewership (4.2M).
Overall, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU averaged 501,000 viewers for regular season games (120.9 million watched at least six minutes of the three networks’ 586-game coverage). That does not include ESPNEWS, which aired 25 games.
Newcomer Fox Sports 1 averaged just 95,000 viewers for its regular season coverage (excludes Championship Week). The network’s top game overall was the Big East title game (0.5, 702K), but the top regular season game was Georgetown/Michigan State on February 1 (0.4, 539K).
FS1 barely edged NBCSN, which averaged 91,000 viewers for a smattering of Atlantic-10, Ivy League and CAA games. The network’s top telecast was Villanova/Kansas in the “Battle 4 Atlantis” on November 29 (0.3, 409K).
CBS, as should be expected, led all networks with an average of 1.8 million viewers.
(Season averages from Sports Business Daily)
