Why the men’s Final Four viewership might tank
Posted by
JD (aka Jason Dean)
Mar 27 '23, 09:21
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By Richard Deitsch
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus has always been honest about the television realities of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. What makes the opening rounds great (and amps up interest) is when Cinderella advances over U.S. Steel. But at a certain point in the event, when it comes to historical television viewership, the famed college basketball schools are what drive mass interest.
“You want the big-name brands, obviously, in the tournament if you can have them,” McManus said prior to the 2021 tournament when he was asked about the absence of Kentucky in the draw. “But I think what happens every year is stories emerge, and it’s the stories that emerge that really keep people interested. I’ve said before that Kentucky, Duke, Michigan or one of the traditional powerhouses such as Kansas or North Carolina helps your ratings. But we’re going to focus on the teams and stories that are in there. Would we like to have those teams? Sure, we would.”
This year’s Final Four will provide a window into how much bluebloods matter. San Diego State, a No. 5 seed, will meet No. 9 Florida Atlantic on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. in the early semifinal on CBS. No. 4 UConn and No. 5 Miami will follow on CBS with an approximate tip time of 8:49 p.m. ET. San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and Miami are newcomers to the Final Four. (The Aztecs had never even reached a regional final before, in fact, and Florida Atlantic’s only other tournament appearance was a first-round loss 21 years ago). UConn has won four NCAA tournament championships, the last one coming in 2014.
The historical context for what might be coming: Baylor’s blowout win over Houston in the early Final Four window in 2021 averaged 8.36 million viewers — which ranks as the least-watched Final Four game on record. The previous low, per SBJ’s Austin Karp, was Kansas-Marquette in 2003 (9.9 million) on CBS, which Karp noted was impacted by coverage around the start of the Iraq War. The least-watched title game dating back to 1975, per Sports Media Watch, is Villanova’s win over Michigan in 2018, which averaged 15.987 million viewers on linear and 16.5 million with streaming included. That comes with a small caveat because it aired across TBS, TNT and TruTV as opposed to broadcast TV. The previous low was 17.09 million viewers in 2004 for UConn’s win over Georgia Tech on CBS.
As a sports story, it’s exciting that either Florida Atlantic or San Diego State will be in the championship game. As a television draw — and I hope I am wrong — I expect that Final Four game to set a new all-time low for broadcast television. As for potential championship games, CBS will have a Cinderella trying to win it all, but neither UConn nor Miami exactly come off as 1990 UNLV. (UConn wing Jordan Hawkins is the only player in the game who makes the top 25 of most mock drafts.) If you are CBS, you really need a close title game this year, perhaps more than any in quite some time. But I think we are looking at the least-watched title game ever. We’ll know in the days after next Monday’s game.
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