Despite a glaring lack of hoopla, March Madness ratings soar
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March Madness thus far has been the very picture of sanity, a relatively sedate affair bereft of buzzer beaters and bracket-busting upsets. But as much as everyone loves a Cinderella story, the preponderance of favorites that have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen only seem to have bolstered the tourney’s TV ratings.
According to Nielsen data, this year’s NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Tournament is on pace to be one of the highest-rated college hoops showcases in decades. Through the first four days of play, the deliveries in the metered markets are up 8 percent vs. the same time a year ago, and the average 6.4 household rating marks the second-largest turnout for the tourney’s opening weekend since 1991.
Much of the early success may be attributed to the fascination surrounding Duke’s Zion Williamson. A prohibitive favorite to be selected first in the 2019 NBA draft, the freshman phenom has lit up scoreboards and Nielsen boxes alike over the course of his one-and-done collegiate campaign. In a rare nail-biter, Williamson and the top-seeded Blue Devils on Sunday staved off a near-upset by UCF in order to move on to a Friday showdown with No. 4 Virginia Tech. Featured in CBS’s marquee Sunday afternoon window, Duke’s 77-76 victory averaged 12.9 million viewers and a 7.8 household rating, improving on the year-ago Texas A&M-North Carolina broadcast by a whopping 37 percent.
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