TV Ratings: NCAA Tournament Delivers

The opening round of March Madness drew an average of 8.4 million domestic viewers, setting an eight-year high for the US-based National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

Sportspro Media reports:

• 
  Viewership was up two per cent year-over-year (YoY) across Paramount-owned CBS, and Warner Bros Discovery’s TBS, TNT and TruTV channels – delivering the highest average since 2015
• Early primetime window averaged 10.16 million viewers per-game, with Auburn’s win over Iowa reaching 3.44 million on TNT, the highest audience of the four fixtures in that window
• Late primetime window viewership increased by 11 per cent YoY, delivering an average of 8.5 million viewers
• Louisiana v Tennessee game on CBS reached 3.48 million viewers, the highest for any late primetime matchups
• Early afternoon slot was up 15 per cent on 2022 to reach 6.8 million average viewers
• First Four play-in games averaged 5.41 million viewers on TruTV, down 21 per cent YoY

The opening round of the NCAA’s flagship men’s basketball tournament delivered a higher audience average than that of this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star game and the National Football League’s (NFL) revamped Pro Bowl Games, which drew viewership of 7.5 million and 6.3 million respectively.