Field Level Media
25 Mar 2026, 09:10 GMT+10
(Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
March Madness delivered a first-week ratings surge, with the men's NCAA Tournament averaging 10.1 million viewers across CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV, making it the most-watched tournament ever through the first two rounds, according to Nielsen Big Data.
The opening round set the tone. First-round games averaged an all-time best 9.5 million viewers, up 9% from last year, before the round of 32 climbed again to an 11.0 million average, a 7% rise from last year and the most-watched second round since 1993.
The biggest spike occurred Sunday during the early prime-time window, when the combined audience reached 19.7 million -- the largest single first-week window on record. That stretch included St. John's late thriller over Kansas, Iowa's upset of top-seeded Florida and Tennessee's win over Virginia, a series of close finishes that kept viewers from flipping away.
The broadcasters hope the audience spike will carry into the next phase of the bracket, with the Sweet 16 scheduled to begin on Thursday. The weekend also set the stage for a conference-heavy second week, with Big Ten teams making up a large share of the remaining field (six of 16 teams).
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of San Jose Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Jose Sun.
More Information(Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images) March Madness delivered a first-week ratings surge, with the men's NCAA Tournament averaging...
(Photo credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images) Mark Scheifele scored a goal and had two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves...
(Photo credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images) The New Orleans Saints and veteran quarterback Zach Wilson agreed to a one-year deal on...
(Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) The visiting New Jersey Devils scored four times in their first five shots and then held...
(Photo credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images) Donovan Mitchell scored 16 of his 42 points in the third quarter and James Harden had 26...
(Photo credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images) Joel Hofer made 21 saves and the Blues defeated the Washington Capitals 3-0 in St. Louis...
NEW DELHI, India: Indian drugmakers have begun launching lower-cost versions of popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday, while global markets delivered a mixed performance as geopolitical...
TOKYO, Japan: Tokio Marine Holdings said on March 23 that it will enter a strategic partnership with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A surge in gasoline prices linked to the Iran war is expected to erode much of the financial boost Americans were...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Novartis has agreed to acquire an experimental breast cancer drug from U.S.-based Synnovation Therapeutics in a...
NEW YORK, New York - Astonishingly a single post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform on Monday ignited stock...
