The showpiece finals of the men’s and women’s “March Madness” NCAA Division I tournaments saw the two iconic college tournaments end on a strong note in the viewership stakes.
The men’s fixture, a thrilling comeback win for Florida over Houston drew an average of 18.1 million viewers on Paramount Global-owned national network CBS.
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Two top seeds faced off as the Florida Gators emerged as 65 – 63 winners over the Houston Cougars in what was the most-watched college basketball fixture since the final of the competition’s 2019 edition, which saw Virginia’s defeat of Texas Tech draw 19.4 million.
Peaking at 21.1 million, the game’s average viewership rose 22% from UConn’s victory over Purdue in 2024 on TNT Sports, and despite the lack of high-profile upsets earlier on, the tournament’s viewership remained positive throughout, with the entirety of the three-game Final Four also up 21% on 2024.
The Final of the women’s tournament also performed strongly, even if it predictably fell drastically from the astounding record figure in 2024.
UConn routed South Carolina 82 to 59 with an average of 8.6 million taking in the game on the Disney-owned national network ABC and sports broadcaster ESPN.
While that represents a fall of 54% on the 2024 final, which boasted the star power of now WNBA player Caitlin Clark generating national interest, the 2025 final is still the third most watched women’s college basketball game of all time, with only the finals of 2024 and 2023 (which also featured Clark as well as Angel Reese) ahead of it.
The more apt comparison in this case would be the 2022 final, the last final not to feature Clark, which drew an average of 4.85 million viewers, meaning this final is up 77% on that year.
Clark’s crossover popularity was considered anomalous during her spell in college, and while it will be tough for the NCAA to find a new star that can attract near that same height, the lingering effects of her run in college basketball could pre-empt a new era for women’s college basketball viewership.
This would be a major boon to ESPN, which secured a bumper eight-year, $920 million extension with the NCAA to continue to broadcast the women’s basketball national championships (but not the men’s), as well as several other top college sports such as American football, baseball, lacrosse, and tennis.
In recent years, the popularity of the men’s final has faltered, while the 2024 edition of the women’s final was the fifth straight women’s national championship game to increase viewership from the previous year.
While the 2025 finals reverse that trend, if only briefly, it remains that March Madness is still one of the hottest commodities in US sports annually.
