Ratings slipped for the Big 12 Tournament final; the Pac-12 final neared a seven-year high; the Big East final fell short of last year’s high; the Mountain West final topped the mid-major charts.
Big 12 final down from last year
Saturday’s Iowa State-Kansas Big 12 Tournament final earned a 1.6 rating and 2.52 million viewers on ESPN, down a tick in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (Kansas-West Virginia: 1.7, 2.85M), but up 16% and 9% respectively from 2017 (Iowa State-West Virginia: 1.35, 2.31M).
Despite the drop, the Cyclones’ win delivered the third-largest Big 12 Tournament audience since 2010. Last year’s final holds the top spot, followed by the 2015 game (Iowa State-Kansas: 2.65M).
Pac-12 final posts second-biggest audience since 2012
The Oregon-Washington Pac-12 Tournament final had a 1.2 rating and 1.99 million viewers on ESPN Saturday night, up 243% in ratings and 225% in viewership from last year on FS1 (Arizona-USC: 0.35, 612K), but flat and down 4% respectively from 2017 on ESPN (Arizona-Oregon: 1.2, 2.08M).
The Ducks’ win was the second-most watched Pac-12 final since 2012, the last year it aired on CBS (Colorado-Arizona: 2.10M).
Big East final off from last year’s high
The FOX broadcast network scored a 0.7 rating and 1.13 million viewers for Saturday’s Villanova-Seton Hall Big East Tournament final, down 22% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year (Villanova-Providence: 0.9, 1.49M), but flat and up 4% respectively from 2017 (Villanova-Creighton: 0.7, 1.09M).
Last year’s title game was the most-watched since the Big East relaunched in 2013.
MWC final down, but tops mid-major title games
Saturday’s Utah State-San Diego State Mountain West Tournament final led all mid-major conference tournament games with a 0.9 rating and 1.32 million viewers on CBS, but that was down a tick in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (SDSU-New Mexico: 1.0, 1.59M).
In other mid-major action, Sunday’s Saint Louis-St. Bonaventure Atlantic-10 final had a 0.9 (flat) and 1.28 million (-5%) on CBS. Later that day, the Cincinnati-Houston American Athletic Conference final drew a 0.75 (-45%) and 1.19 million (-43%) on ESPN; last year’s final aired on CBS.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 3.19]
