A down-to-the-wire title game delivered a six-year viewership high for CBS.
Monday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship between the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars was the most-watched edition of the game since 2019, averaging 18.1 million viewers on CBS. Florida’s comeback win was up 22% versus last year’s title game between UConn and Purdue, which averaged 14.8 million viewers across the TNT Sports networks, and up 23% versus UConn and San Diego State in 2023 (14.7 million viewers), the last time the title game aired on CBS.
National Championship between Florida and Houston delivers 18.1 million viewers on CBS, capping off the most-watched Final Four weekend since 2017 pic.twitter.com/3FmBOMDGuF
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) April 8, 2025
The game, which tipped off around 8:50 p.m. ET, 30 minutes earlier than in prior years, is the most-watched edition of the men’s basketball title game since Virginia and Texas Tech drew 19.6 million viewers on CBS in 2019. Viewership for Monday night’s championship peaked at 21.1 million for the game’s conclusion.
Total viewership for this year’s tournament across CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV increased by 3%, averaging 10.2 million viewers per window.
As for Final Four weekend in particular, this year’s trio of games on CBS averaged 16.4 million viewers, the highest average for the final three games of the tournament in eight years and up 21% versus last year’s average on TNT Sports.
A few factors likely helped the strong number for this year’s title game. One, a return to broadcast television certainly helped boost the number. Under the current agreement, CBS and TNT Sports rotate which years each network airs the Final Four. With limited exceptions, years in which CBS broadcasts the games draw larger audiences than years where TNT Sports, which requires a pay TV or streaming subscription, airs the games.
Two, the slightly earlier start time likely helped retain viewers on the East Coast without sacrificing many West Coast viewers for the beginning of the telecast. 8:50 p.m. ET might be a sweet spot for the men’s championship game. It begins late enough that West Coast viewers can return home from work to watch the start of the game, but it tips off early enough that East Coast viewers won’t have to stay up much past 11 p.m. ET to watch the game’s conclusion.
Three, Florida and Houston were clearly two of the best teams in the country, both by advanced metrics and seeding. It’s no secret that No. 1 seeds tend to draw greater viewership than lower-seeded teams. And given that the Final Four comprised of all No. 1 seeds, fans knew they’d be watching the best of the best.
Lastly, Monday’s game was close until the final whistle. Tight games tend to rate better than blowouts as viewers stay engaged for the entire broadcast. Given that viewership for this year’s game peaked during its conclusion, that hypothesis seems to hold some weight.
Barring a broadly compelling NBA Finals matchup, Florida’s win is likely to be the most-watched basketball telecast of the year. No NBA Finals audience has eclipsed 14 million viewers since 2019.
Interestingly, this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game finished several hundred thousand viewers shy of last year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, which posted a record-setting audience of 18.9 million viewers and was the most-watched basketball game of 2024. With the women’s championship returning to Earth this season, the men’s final will likely take the crown for 2025.
