Pursuits
NCAA Basketball Title Game Viewers Drop 37% in Cable Debut
- Villanova victory over North Carolina draws 17.8 million
- Matchup was most-watched program on TV on Monday night
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Villanova’s last-second victory over North Carolina in the U.S. men’s college basketball championship, which aired on cable TV for the first time Monday night, drew 37 percent fewer viewers than last year’s title game.
The 77-74 thriller that ended with a three-point shot at the buzzer attracted 17.8 million total viewers on TNT, TBS and TruTv, all Time Warner Inc. networks, according to a statement Tuesday. That’s down from the 28.3 million who tuned in a year ago to see Duke beat Wisconsin on CBS in the NCAA championship -- a marquee matchup that was the most-watched in 18 years.