With the dawn of March Madness this week, college basketball takes centerstage on the American sports scene. But leading up to March, it was a great season for the sport and one of its main broadcast partners with ESPN.
Although ESPN does not broadcast the men’s NCAA Tournament (that honor would belong to CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery), they have the deepest and most prominent collection of games throughout the regular season. And there was a lot for Bristol to cheer for in the 2024-2025 college basketball season.
All totaled, the worldwide leader saw college basketball go up 8% in viewership over last season. That was spurred by a massive 21% growth during Championship Week. And both the entire season and flagship show College GameDay saw their most watched seasons since 2020.
The ’24-’25 #NCAAMBB reg. season on ESPN platforms finished up 8% YoY
🏀 7 of the top 10 reg. season MCBB games across all networks
🏀 ‘Sonic Blockbuster’ most-viewed since ’18
🏀 Champ Week up 21% YoY
🏀 @CollegeGameDay most-watched season since ’20🔗 https://t.co/kAaTsD7XzY pic.twitter.com/hOTXgc3yPC
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 19, 2025
To nobody’s surprise, the Duke-North Carolina rivalry represented the #1 and #3 ranked games in viewership on ESPN this year with the March 8 matchup drawing just shy of 3 million viewers. even though some fans may yearn for more dedicated coverage to other matchups, it’s still ESPN’s main attraction for the college basketball season.
Sandwiched between them was a #1 vs #2 showdown in basketball’s version of the Iron Bowl when the Auburn Tigers won on the road against the Alabama Crimson Tide on February 15. Those four teams and the Kentucky Wildcats dominated the Top 10 of ESPN’s most watched games this season with 16 appearances between them. If some of those big brands make long runs in this year’s NCAA Tournament, expect CBS and WBD to benefit in the ratings department as well.
About Matt Yoder