Connecticut’s emphatic victory over Purdue in Monday’s men’s national championship game averaged 14.8 million viewers, Turner Sports said Tuesday, a slight increase from the Huskies’ 2023 victory over State. San Diego.
Last year’s title match had 14.69 million viewers and was the least-watched men’s title match on record.
In contrast, the Iowa-South Carolina women’s national championship game attracted a record 18.9 million viewers and peaked at 24.1 million, marking the first time the audience for the women’s title game had exceeded that of men. The audience for the women’s championship increased by 90 percent compared to 2023 and by 289 percent compared to 2022.
It’s from @nielsen — this underlines how historic this women’s tournament was in terms of interest.
I know I’ve said this a thousand times on this site: there is money out there for businesses, outlets, individuals if they invest (smartly) in college basketball feminine. Let’s go… pic.twitter.com/t4CFP7QYvF
– Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) April 9, 2024
The second consecutive low viewership for the men’s title match shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. If you’re looking for the why, there are some educated guesses.
First, the match was hampered by a large margin of victory. UConn led by 18 points in the 75-60 victory. You lose connection late in games if it’s not close.
This year’s tournament didn’t have a Zion Williamson-type player who could be a top-five selection in the NBA draft.
The title game aired on TBS/truTV and TNT, which has fewer households than CBS. The start time – 9:20 p.m. ET – didn’t help. In addition, the national semi-finals did not really generate strong audience dynamics. It all adds up. The tournament will still be interesting given how many people are filling out the brackets and betting on the games, but from this perspective you need stars to get a big rating.
The men’s national championship game hasn’t topped 20 million viewers since 2017, when UNC-Gonzaga drew 22.998 million on CBS. The men’s national championship game viewership record remains at 35.1 million viewers for Michigan State and Indiana State in 1979.
The entire 2024 NCAA men’s tournament averaged 9.9 million viewers for its 67 games, according to TNT and CBS Sports, representing a 3% increase from 2023.
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(Photo: Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)