After big numbers last year, when Kentucky was undefeated, the SEC Tournament final had a double-digit slide in viewership.
Sunday’s Kentucky/Texas A&M SEC Tournament final drew 2.9 million viewers on ESPN, down 13% from Kentucky/Arkansas last year (3.3M) and down 3% from Florida/Kentucky in 2014 (3.0M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The Wildcats’ win ranks as the least-watched SEC title game in three years, since Mississippi/Florida on ABC in 2013 (1.7M). Overall, it earned the second-smallest audience for the game in at least seven years.
Despite the lower numbers, Sunday’s game scored the fourth-largest audience of the season on cable — behind only Kentucky/Kansas in January (3.0M), Kentucky/Duke in November (3.1M) and North Carolina/Duke the previous weekend (3.2M). The Wildcats’ three appearances in the top four are more than any other team.
In other action, Saturday’s Kentucky/Georgia semifinal had 2.0 million (+19%) and Texas A&M/LSU 984,000 (-59%).
(Sat. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
