NCAA Tournament draws record viewership during opening week

The NCAA Tournament averaged 10.1 million viewers during its second-round games and saw a 7% increase in viewership during the opening week.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mar 24, 2026, 6:03 PM Updated: 6:06 pm

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Jalen Warley of the Gonzaga Bulldogs controls the ball against Texas on March 21, 2026. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

(Soobum Im/Getty Images)

The NCAA Tournament had its best first week on record, averaging 10.1 million viewers through the second round across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

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Tournament viewership is up 7% from last year, according to Nielsen. CBS and TNT began showing all of the games in 2011 after CBS had done early rounds in regional windows from 1991 through 2010.

The first round on Thursday and Friday averaged 9.5 million viewers — a 9% increase — while the second round on Saturday and Sunday averaged 11 million. That is the most-viewed second round since 1993 and a 7% jump from last year.

Sunday’s early prime-time window, featuring St. John’s-Kansas on CBS, Iowa-Florida on TBS and Virginia-Tennessee on TNT, averaged 19.7 million, making it the most-watched window in tournament history for the first week.

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