Non-Competitive Final Four Games See Sharp Viewership Decline

Viewership for yesterday's Final Four dropped sharply as the semifinals saw historically non-competitive games. Last night’s North Carolina-Syracuse Final Four matchup drew an average of 12.9 million viewers in the late window on TBS, TNT and truTV, down 42.9% from Wisconsin-Kentucky in ’15. Villanova-Oklahoma averaged 10.5 million in the early window, down 31.4% from Duke-Michigan State last year. The games, despite being just the third time in 50 years both semifinals were decided by at least 15 points, were the fourth- and sixth-most viewed college basketball games on cable TV. Turner also won the night across cable and broadcast TV.