March Madness Getting Chalkier, but TV Networks Aren’t Worried

The increasing dominance of March Madness favorites in the national tournament is not a worry at all for CBS Sports or TNT Sports, network executives said.

As much of men’s college basketball gets chalkier—seen in part by the four No. 1 seeds that advanced to last year’s Final Four—that dynamic is only increasing. The joint broadcasters of March Madness, however, remain bullish on the event overall and its viewership potential this year.

“I’m not concerned in the least,” CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson said Tuesday in response to a Front Office Sports question. “We know there will be upsets. We know there will be some chalk advancing. But this tournament is special. You never know what you’re going to get. 

“There are big names, there are small names, and no one can predict it all. This is a crown jewel event, and that unpredictability is what makes it so special. If more fans want to watch because you get Duke and Kentucky and Michigan and Kansas and so on, then those fans are speaking by watching more,” Berson said. 

The 29 wins by non-power conference teams over power conference opponents during the regular season are less than half of the comparable figure from the 2021–22 season, when NIL compensation began. Some of that is due to scheduling, as mid-majors are also having more difficulty than ever booking games against larger opponents and getting into multiple-team events (MTEs). 

The transfer portal and NIL, meanwhile, continue to concentrate top player talent among elite, power conference schools. 

Within the top teams there is further separation. The four highest-ranked teams in the current Associated Press poll—Duke, Arizona, Michigan, and defending champion Florida—are the heavy betting favorites to reach this year’s Final Four. 

Viewership Matters

Last year’s March Madness showed across-the-board boosts in viewership, despite the relative lack of upsets that have significantly defined the event. 

The national championship game between Florida and Houston averaged 18.1 million viewers, up 22% from 2024 and the highest figure for that contest since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The game completed what was a solid showing for the entire tournament, which averaged 10.2 million viewers across CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV, up 3%. 

This year’s March Madness will be the first to benefit from Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement process, introduced in September. The Final Four semifinal games and national championship game, however, will be shown on TBS this year in the ongoing yearly rotation with CBS, and that cable-based presentation could result in lower audiences. TNT Sports, however, is also highly optimistic. 

“March Madness captivates the entire country, and it brings together passionate fans and casual fans alike,” said TNT Sports chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser. “This year, we have a wide open field, a phenomenal freshman class, and no shortage of storylines.”

The Bigger Deal

Berson and Silberwasser, meanwhile, declined to discuss Paramount’s planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery that involves the parent companies of the two networks. The deal, which would result in a merger of the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services, faces an uphill path toward regulatory approval. 

The two sports networks, however, have been working together on the shared March Madness rights since 2011—something that is a distinct example of the joint programming and production that would become common in a combined company.

“This partnership is truly unique and is the most successful in the sports industry,” Silberwasser said. “It is a partnership that has been built on trust, on collaboration, and on a common mindset.”