CBS Sports and Turner Sports say television ratings for the NCAA Tournament across four networks that broadcast the first week of games were up 8 percent over last year.
Tournaments games drew an average Nielsen rating of 6.4, up from 5.9 last year. The rating got a boost from the dramatic Duke-UCF game on Sunday. The Blue Devils’ one-point victory earned an 11.9 rating, up 35 percent from the game that aired in that same television window last year. The game had the second-highest rating in that time slot in the 29 years since the tournament expanded to its current format.
Ratings represent the percentage of U.S. television households tuned into a program.
CBS and Turner also announced Monday that NCAA March Madness Live set a new high for live streams and live hours of consumption, up more than 25 percent from last year.
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