The early numbers are out and the NCAA men’s championship game, which saw UConn defeat Purdue, drew just over 14.8 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV. Robert Seidman, who operates the SportsTVRatings account on X, was the first to post the number.
The overall number is up from last year’s championship game between UConn and San Diego State, which had 14.7 viewers. That game, however, was a record low, down 15% in ratings and 14% in viewership from the year before.
To put the numbers into perspective, this is only the second time a men’s national title game in basketball has been seen by less than 16 million viewers.
This also marks the first time the women’s championship game has outdrawn the men. The Iowa-South Carolina matchup on Sunday, which featured the final collegiate game for superstar Caitlin Clark, drew an average of 18.7 million viewers.
Earlier today it was reported that the men’s semifinal games on Saturday averaged 12.84 million viewers, which was up 4& over last year.
