Virginia and CBS were the big winners on Monday, though the NCAA National Championship ratings declined double digits from the last time it aired on broadcast television. Specifically, the falloff from 2017 was 13%.
Texas Tech-Virginia drew a 12.4 rating/22 share in the 56 metered markets, per Nielsen. Two years ago, the men’s finals received a 14.2 rating for CBS’ North Carolina-Gonzaga game.
The 2018 National Championship was on the Turner cable channels. That one was not only lower rated than this one, its 10.3 overnight rating marked marked a record low.
Below are last night’s Top 5-rated markets, according to the earliest-available numbers — the first two cities should not surprise readers.
- Richmond: 31.3 rating/48 share
- Norfolk: 23.4/39
- Minneapolis: 23.3/41
- Louisville: 23.2/37
- Kansas City: 21.1/36
Nationally, the final game of the 2019 March Madness tournament peaked with a 15.0/30 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.
UVA defeated Texas Tech 85-77 on Monday. Virginia, a 1 seed, was the favorite in the game and did not disappoint. Texas Tech entered the tournament as a 3 seed.
Overall, the 2019 NCAA Tournament coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV averaged a 7.1/15, which is up 11% from last year (6.4/14).