Duke-UCF thriller helps boost TV ratings for NCAA Tournament

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.