Big Ten Title Game Rebounds From Last Year’s Low

The Big Ten Tournament final rebounded, at least a little, from last year’s low.

Michigan-Wisconsin scored a 2.3 final rating and 3.6 million viewers in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament final on CBS, up 5% in ratings and 10% in viewership from Michigan State-Purdue last year (2.2, 3.2M) but down 12% and 10% respectively from Wisconsin-Michigan State in 2015 (2.6, 4.0M).

The 2.3 rating is tied as the lowest for the Big Ten title game since at least 2008, matching 2010 and ahead of only last year. With that said, it also ranks as the second-best college basketball rating on any network this season, behind only Duke-North Carolina on ESPN the previous weekend (2.4).

The Wolverines’ win ranks a little further down the list in viewership, placing fourth behind Duke-UNC (4.1M), Kentucky-UNC on CBS in December (3.62M) and the Duke-Notre Dame ACC Tournament final the night before (3.60M).

Head-to-head, Michigan-Wisconsin crushed the competing Bulls-Celtics NBA game on ABC (1.1, 1.6M) and the American Athletic Conference final on ESPN (0.8, 1.2M).

In other action over the weekend, Saturday’s Wisconsin-Northwestern semifinal had a 1.5 and 2.3 million — down 12% in ratings and 15% in viewership from MSU-Maryland last year (1.7, 2.6M) and down 17% and 21% respectively from Maryland-MSU in 2015 (1.8, 2.8M). Michigan-Minnesota scored a 1.5 (+8%) and 2.1 million (+8%) earlier in the day.

(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.16)