March Madness TV Ratings Surge to 32-Year High Despite No Cinderellas

Despite a mostly chalk bracket so far, men’s March Madness is drawing its best TV ratings in more than three decades.

Through the first two rounds, the NCAA tournament is averaging 9.4 million viewers per game across CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV, marking the highest average audience through the round of 32 since 1993, according to Nielsen ratings.

After a record-breaking opening day, the first round finished with 8.8 million viewers per game—up 2% from 2024, marking the highest ever for the tournament under its traditional opening format of Thursday to Friday. Second-round games on Saturday and Sunday averaged 10.2 million viewers, up 3% from last year, and the most-watched round of 32 since 2017.

TruTV also had its most-watched First Four on record with 7.4 million gross viewers.

So far, the most-watched game window was late Sunday afternoon when 15.3 million viewers tuned in to coverage led by Kentucky’s 84–75 victory over Illinois.

Nielsen began tabulating out-of-home viewership in places like bars and restaurants in 2020 and has increased the sample since then, resulting in higher overall numbers.

Big Programs, Big Ratings?

With no Cinderella stories left to pull on fans’ heartstrings, CBS Sports and TNT Sports will rely on college basketball bluebloods and some high-profile coaches to entice viewers for the remainder of March Madness.

The Sweet 16 begins with four games Thursday night, headlined by a pair of No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchups. Maryland looks to take down Florida on TBS and truTV at 7:39 p.m. ET before CBS gets Arizona-Duke at 9:39 p.m. ET.