Despite an uptick in ratings, last week’s clash between Kentucky and Michigan shed over one million viewers from last year.
The Kentucky/Michigan NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game earned an 8.9 final rating and 14.6 million viewers on CBS, up a tick in ratings but down 6% from Louisville/Duke last year (8.8, 15.6M), and up 25% in both measures from Kansas/North Carolina in 2012 (7.1, 11.7M). The 8.9 rating is tied as the best for an Elite Eight game since Kentucky/Michigan State in 2005 (10.4).
Kentucky/Michigan ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed single game of the NCAA Tournament, no surprise given the late Sunday afternoon timeslot. Including the combined telecast windows across CBS and Turner Sports, Kentucky/Michigan ranks third behind the early evening window on March 23 (16.1M) and the late primetime window on March 28 (15.2M).
Sunday’s early Elite Eight game between Connecticut and Michigan State earned a 6.1 and 9.8 million viewers — up 7% in ratings and 5% in viewership from Michigan/Florida last year (5.7, 9.4M) and up 22% and 19%, respectively, from Kentucky/Baylor in 2012 (5.0, 8.2M). The 6.1 rating is the best for the early Sunday Elite Eight window since Kansas/VCU three years ago (6.5).
Entering the Final Four, nine of the ten most-viewed NCAA Tournament games this season have aired on CBS. Five of those nine games did not face competition from a game on Turner.
Most-Viewed 2014 NCAA Tournament Games
Entering the Final Four
(Sun. numbers from Sports Business Daily)
