Editorial

The Elite 8 Gets Poor TV Ratings Compared To The Sweet 16 And Past Tournaments

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David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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The TV ratings for the Elite 8 weren’t even close to the Sweet 16.

According to Sports Media Watch, the ratings tanked for the Elite 8 games compared to 2019 and this year’s Sweet 16. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

Gonzaga beating USC was down 49% from the 2019 slot after averaging 5.40 million viewers. UCLA beating Michigan on TBS was down 57% from the 2019 slot.

Just a couple days prior, the Sweet 16 had some insane ratings after putting up the best numbers in 28 years.

The main difference is the Sweet 16 was played over the weekend and the Elite 8 was pushed to Monday and Tuesday. The Sweet 16 games averaged 12.9 million.

 

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It’s pretty wild that the ratings for the Sweet 16 hit a 28-year high and the ratings tanked Monday and Tuesday night.

In case anyone thought the NCAA was going to keep the current schedule of playing games early in the week, this should end any and all speculation.

 

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I live on the East Coast, and the Michigan/UCLA game didn’t start here until late at night on a Tuesday! You can’t expect people to stay up super late.

We have to go back to the old format of playing games Thursday through Sunday, and I’m sure we will starting with the 2022 tournament.

 

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With the Final Four being played normally, the ratings should bounce back in a huge way for Saturday and Monday. At the very least, I’ll be watching!