TV Ratings: Men’s NCAA Final Four Scores Eight-Year Highs for CBS

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On Saturday, the second time an all-leading men’s Final Four was contested produced a pair of closely fought matches, as well as large television viewerships.

The two recent men’s Final Four games, as measured by Nielsen, attracted approximately 15.3 million viewers each, making it the highest viewership for the event since 2017. Notably, Nielsen started including out-of-home viewing in its calculations only three years later than that. Compared to last year’s figures on TBS, TNT, and TruTV, this represents a 19% increase (from around 12.8 million viewers). Moreover, it is 24% higher than the viewership CBS recorded when they last broadcast the Final Four in 2023.

The first match, where Florida triumphed over Auburn by a score of 79-73, attracted 14.6 million viewers, marking an increase from the 11.4 million viewers during the same timeframe the previous year. In the late game, Houston’s thrilling 70-67 comeback against Duke saw an average of 16 million viewers, representing a 13% rise compared to the late window in 2024. The highest viewership for CBS’ broadcast was recorded at 20.4 million viewers.

The initial game, which Florida won against Auburn 79-73, garnered 14.6 million viewers, a rise from the 11.4 million viewers during the same period last year. In the later game, Houston’s dramatic comeback victory over Duke averaged 16 million viewers, a 13% increase on the viewership for the late window in 2024. The peak viewership for CBS’ coverage reached 20.4 million viewers.

The Houston-Duke matchup in the 2025 tournament was the most viewed game thus far and broke records set by every contest in the 2024 bracket. The final viewership figures for games played on Saturday will be released on Tuesday, and it’s anticipated that they may increase slightly from the preliminary national numbers.

On Friday, the Women’s Final Four saw a significant drop in viewership, as anticipated following the unprecedented viewership figures from the previous year. The matches, both convincing victories by the defending champion South Carolina over Texas and Connecticut over UCLA, drew an average of 3.9 million viewers on ESPN in the preliminary ratings. This represents a decrease of 65% compared to the 11 million viewers last year. Nevertheless, it was the third highest average viewership for the Women’s Final Four since ESPN obtained exclusive rights to the women’s version of March Madness in 1995, surpassed only by the figures from last year and 2023 (4.5 million viewers).

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2025-04-06 23:24