Though certainly not the case on the court, UNC-Gonzaga was a much better game in the ratings than last year’s Villanova-UNC classic.
North Carolina-Gonzaga earned a 14.5 overnight rating in Monday’s NCAA Tournament National Championship on CBS, up 21% from Villanova-UNC on TBS, TNT and TruTV last year (12.0) but down 15% from Duke-Wisconsin on CBS in 2015 (17.1).
The Tar Heels’ win, which peaked at a 17.4 from 11:30-11:45 PM ET, delivered the third-highest overnight for the national championship since UNC-Illinois in 2005 (16.0) — trailing only Duke-Butler in 2010 (16.0) and Duke-Wisconsin in ’15.
Duke or North Carolina have played in the four highest rated national championship games in the past 15 years.
Raleigh-Durham led all markets Monday night with a 33.8 overnight, followed by Greensboro, N.C. (31.7) and Charlotte (30.1). Seattle-Tacoma was the the top market outside of North Carolina with a 24.5, with Louisville rounding out the top five (23.5).
(Mon. numbers from CBS/Turner Sports)
