Best moments from the Final Four
CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ exclusive coverage of Saturday night’s 2018 NCAA Final Four national semifinals — Loyola (IL) vs. Michigan and Kansas vs. Villanova — generated an average minute audience of 13.4 million viewers across TBS, TNT, truTV and NCAA March Madness Live, an increase of 15 percent over televised only coverage of the Final Four in 2016, the last time the games aired across Turner networks (11.7 million viewers).
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Additional highlights include:
- Last night’s coverage of Loyola (IL) vs. Michigan delivered an average minute audience across all platforms of 13,445,000 viewers, up 29 percent over the comparable television only telecast in 2016 (Villanova/Oklahoma – 10,451,000 viewers). The telecast, airing across TBS, TNT and truTV, peaked with 18 million viewers from 8-8:15 p.m. ET.
- The second game of the night — Villanova vs. Kansas — posted an average minute audience across all platforms of 13,309,000 viewers, up 3 percent vs. the comparable television only game telecast in 2016 (North Carolina/Syracuse – 12,939,000 viewers). Villanova jumped out to a 22-4 lead in the first seven minutes of the game and led by approximately 20 points throughout the entire game. The telecast – airing across TBS, TNT and truTV – peaked with an average of 14.6 million viewers during the first half (9:30-9:45 p.m.) and dropped to an average of 9.6 million in the final quarter hour at 11 p.m.
- Final Four coverage across NCAA March Madness Live saw increases in live streams (up 28 percent) and hours consumed (up 14 percent) compared to the same coverage two years ago, the last time the Final Four aired on Turner networks.
