TV Ratings: Day 1 March Madness Viewers Jump Y2Y

New data from AdImpact indicates that day 1 of the NCAA Men’s Tournament saw increased viewership with audiences peaking at approximately 21.3 million viewers at 8:54 PM EDT compared to 20.4mn viewers reached at 8:22 PM EDT in 2023.

Streaming viewership also rose, increasing from 29.3% of viewers in 2023 to 39.5% in 2024 while linear decreased from 70.7% in 2023 to 60.5% in 2024. YouTube TV accounted for a significant share of streaming, including 16.6% of total TVs in 2024 (12.1% in 2023), according to AdImpact.  

LG Ad Solutions provided additional data in its latest sports study, which surveyed more than 850 US consumers to determine behavior and TV viewership preferences towards watching live sports founds. Highlights of that study included: 

• 74% of CTV users watch live sports via streaming apps, with nearly 30% planning to watch March Madness this year only via streaming this year. 
• 36% of March Madness viewers tune into both the Women’s and Men’s tournaments
• 30% of Men’s game viewers and 22% of Women’s game viewers tune into the Final Four and 34% of Men’s game viewers and 42% of Women’s game viewers tune into the Championship
• 64% of CTV viewers are likely to pay attention to ads while watching live sports, providing marketers with an opportunity to reach and engage consumers during March Madness and beyond