Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament games set a new record for the most-watched prime-time first-round slate in March Madness history, pulling in an average of 12.2 million viewers across CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV.
The standout game in the prime-time slot was Arkansas’ 79-72 win over Kansas on CBS, drawing the largest audience of the night.
Three of the four contests stayed close. Texas A&M only broke away from Yale late in the second half, while 11th-seeded Drake upset No. 6 seed Missouri in a tight finish.
The late game on CBS saw St. John’s dominate Omaha, winning 83-53.
Across the full day, Thursday’s 16 games averaged 9.1 million viewers, up 6% from the previous year.
Through Thursday, including the First Four, the tournament is averaging 8.8 million viewers under the current 68-team format—the highest ever recorded for this structure—marking an 8% increase over 2024.
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