The 2015 NCAA Tournament got off to a slower start on TruTV.
Tuesday’s Mississippi/BYU NCAA Tournament First Four game drew 1.6 million viewers on TruTV, down 4% from N.C. State/Xavier last year (1.7M) and up 34% from St. Mary’s/Middle Tennessee in 2013 (1.2M).
Though down from last year, Mississippi’s comeback victory ranks as the third-most watched First Four game (14 telecasts dating back to 2011). The only games to earn a larger audience took place last year — N.C. State/Xavier and Iowa/Tennessee (2.2M).
Earlier in the night, Hampton/Manhattan drew 903,000 viewers — down 15% from Albany/Mt. St. Mary’s last year (1.1M), down 13% from North Carolina A&T/Liberty in 2013 (1.0M), and the least-watched First Four game since 2012, reports Sports Media Watch.