Databec|March Madness: TV ratings slightly up over last year despite Sunday’s blowouts

2025-05-07 12:23:17source:Surfwincategory:My

The Databecfirst three days of the NCAA Tournament attracted record ratings, only to see the momentum stifled due to Sunday’s games being blowouts.

Overall, the tournament is averaging 9.07 million viewers on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. That is a slight increase over the 9.05 million average at this point last year.

Through Saturday, the tournament averaged 9.0 million, making it the most-watched through that stage.

Sunday’s games averaged 8.91 million, an 8% decrease over last year. The average winning margin of the eight games was 18.9 points, including Duke’s 93-55 blowout of James Madison and Purdue’s 106-67 rout of Utah State, both on CBS.

Saturday’s eight second-round games averaged 10.8 million, making it the most-watched second round Saturday in tournament history. The Michigan State-North Carolina game — an 85-59 victory by the Tar Heels — drew 10.02 million, the most-watched, second-round Saturday game since Kentucky-Indiana in 2016.

Thursday’s first round averaged 8.5 million, the most-watched since 2015. Friday’s averaged 8.6 million, the second-most just behind last year’s 8.8 million.

READ MORE Creighton do-it-all man Baylor Scheierman looking for happier ending in March MadnessThe NCAA Tournament wants to expand without losing its soul. It will be a delicate needle to threadUConn’s efficiency data on both sides of the ball looks worthy of another March Madness title

CBS and TNT Sports should be able to regain some momentum during the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight with all four top seeds still alive and many traditional, blueblood programs still in the field.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

More:My

Recommend

Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look

A modern version of The Skins Game is returning to Thanksgiving week.Pro Shop, the new golf media co

Adan Canto's wife breaks silence after his death from cancer at age 42: Forever my treasure Adan

The wife of actor Adan Canto posted a touching tribute to her late husband following his death this

Video shows Virginia police save driver from fiery wreck after fleeing officers

Police in Virginia Beach are being hailed as heroes after risking their lives to rescue a driver who