Close Games, Return To Broadcast TV Boost Final Four Ratings

CBS averaged a 10.4 overnight rating Saturday night for the Final Four doubleheader, marking the second-best semifinal since '05. The rating also was up 37% over '16, when TBS had both games, and was helped by a pair of close games this year. North Carolina-Oregon and Gonzaga-South Carolina were decided by a combined five points, compared to 61 for last year's Villanova-Oklahoma and UNC-Syracuse semifinals. UNC-Oregon in the late window drew an 11.5 overnight, up 42% over UNC-Syracuse. Gonzaga-South Carolina drew a 9.3 in the early window, up 31% from Villanova-Oklahoma (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).

Meanwhile, a crowd of 77,612 turned out for the Saturday's games at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, marking the "second-highest total ever behind the 79,444 at AT&T Stadium" in '14 (TWITTER.com, 4/1). The Final Four Fan Fest on Saturday played host to the official championship trophy, and lines were "constant in front of the trophy's glass case" (AZCENTRAL.com, 4/1). About 9,000 South Carolina fans "were expected for Saturday's game, and about 1,500 showed up up at the Gamecock Club tailgate at the NCAA Experience" (THESTATE.com, 4/2). Meanwhile, "more than 10,000 festival-goers crowded into Margaret T Hance Park" in Phoenix for the free March Madness Music Festival on Friday to see country musician Keith Urban (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/1).