The NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game Monday, between the No. 1 Florida Gators and the No. 1 Houston Cougars, delivered impressive television ratings, reflecting strong viewer interest in a matchup of top-seeded teams. Broadcast on CBS, the game averaged 18.1 million viewers according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures, marking a 22% increase from the 2024 championship game between UConn and Purdue, which drew 14.8 million.
This made it the most-watched men's title game since 2019, when Virginia’s overtime win over Texas Tech averaged 19.6 million viewers.
The 2025 championship capped a tournament that saw a 3% overall viewership uptick compared to the previous year, buoyed by a historic Final Four featuring all four No. 1 seeds—Florida, Houston, Duke, and Auburn—a rare occurrence last matched in 2008.
Several factors likely contributed to the ratings surge. The game pitted Florida’s high-octane offense, led by Walter Clayton Jr.’s 34-point semifinal performance, against Houston’s top-ranked defense, promising a compelling clash that came down to a 65-63 Florida victory—decided in the final minute.
The 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off, moved earlier than some past years, aligned well with prime viewing hours, and CBS’s longstanding role as the tournament’s flagship broadcaster (part of a cycle with TNT Sports since 2016) ensured wide accessibility via Paramount+ streaming and traditional TV. The absence of major upsets in the tournament, while reducing Cinderella-story drama, may have sustained viewership by keeping marquee teams alive, culminating in a championship featuring two powerhouse programs.
Comparatively, the 2025 men’s game outperformed its women’s counterpart, which aired on ABC and ESPN the previous day, averaging 3.9 million viewers—down 65% from 2024’s record-setting 18.9 million for South Carolina-Iowa, though still the third-highest women’s Final Four average since 1995.
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