North Carolina at Duke Was ESPN’s Most-Viewed Men’s College Basketball Telecast

March 11, 2008 -- ESPN’s telecast showcasing the North Carolina – Duke rivalry Saturday, March 8, set a record as the network’s most-viewed men’s college basketball game. The game, in which #1 North Carolina used a late rally to defeat #5 Duke 76-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, averaged 3,830,000 households and 5,612,328 viewers, along with a 4.0 rating. The Saturday Primetime telecast featuring North Carolina and Duke broke the record set just two weeks prior (Feb.23) when Memphis and Tennessee, ranked #1 and #2 at the time, averaged 3,636,000 households and 5,281,000 viewers (3.8 rating).

In addition, the telecast set several men’s college basketball marks when compared to games airing on any network, broadcast or cable:

* amongst viewers (P2+), the game ranks as the most-viewed regular-season men’s college basketball game in more than a decade (previously, the most-viewed broadcast was Kansas vs. Kentucky, Jan. 9, 2005, on CBS – 5,483,000 viewers);
* the game is the highest-rated regular-season men’s college basketball telecast in the past 15 years (North Carolina vs. Duke, Feb. 3, 1993, on ESPN – 4.3 rating);
* amongst households, the telecast ranks as the most-viewed regular-season men’s college basketball game since 2005 (Duke vs. North Carolina, March 5, 2005, on CBS – 3,977,000 households).

Overall, ESPN’s 2007-08 men’s college basketball telecasts averaged 964,000 households and a 1.0 rating, up 12% in households (vs. 862,000) and 11% in ratings (vs. 0.9) when compared to the 2006-07 season.

Source: ESPN

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