Villanova - North Carolina Classic Was the Lowest-Rated National Championship Game Ever
By Jason McIntyre
If you’re wondering why CBS put the National Championship game on TBS Monday night, it’s because without Turner, CBS would have lost the NCAA Tournament to ESPN in 2011. But with a partner came concessions – like putting the Final 4 on cable, and wedging Turner guys like Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith into prominent roles while CBS analysts took a backseat.
Last year’s Final Four – with undefeated Kentucky, a well-known Wisconsin team that was in the Final Four the year prior, and Duke, arguably the most popular brand in college basketball – delivered big ratings on TBS. The Duke-Wisconsin thriller in the Championship, which was on CBS, was watched by 28.3 million viewers and grabbed a 17.1 rating, the most for a title game in 18 years. It topped Game 7 of the 2014 World Series and even the 2016 College Football National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson.
CBS/Turner wasn’t as lucky with the 2016 Final Four. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 produced many routs, and that continued Saturday in the Final 4, where both games were both double-digit blowouts.
But the Championship game? Villanova 77, North Carolina 74 was perhaps the greatest National Championship game ever, won a shot at the buzzer by Kris Jenkins. But, somewhat incredibly, the ratings weren’t there. According to a press release, when you add up viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV, the game only reeled in 17.8 million viewers, nearly a 10 million drop from the 2015 game. The rating was a 10.6.
Obviously Duke is a bigger draw than North Carolina, but not overwhelmingly so. Villanova doesn’t have a national audience, and hadn’t won a title since 1985, but it is based in Philly, a Top 5 TV market. At worst, it’s a draw with Wisconsin for who brought more eyeballs to the table.
The big question is where did the 10 million people go? Don’t say cord cutters. Did fans just not watch the game? Did they go to a bar because they don’t have TBS? I’m puzzled. Is there an argument that Wisconsin and Duke had five first-round picks on the floor, and UNC and Villanova had one?