2017 NCAA Tournament Scores Increases in Television Viewership Through Elite 8, Along with All-Time Records Across Digital and Social Platforms
Coverage across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV is the third most-watched in 24 Years, averaging 9.8 million viewers, for a 10% increase.
NCAA March Madness Live generates all-time record 88 million live streams to date, an increase of +31% from last year.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ coverage of the 2017 NCAA Tournament is delivering strong audience growth through its first two weeks with fans engaging across television – up double-digits in viewership – record-setting streaming on NCAA March Madness Live, and all-time records for interactions by fans across social platforms.
The NCAA Tournament to date is averaging 9.8 million viewers through Sunday’s Regional Finals, up 10% from last year (8.9 million), making it the third most-watched tournament in 24 years. In addition, the NCAA Tournament is averaging a 6.0/13 rating/share, up +9% from 2016 (5.5/12).
This weekend’s Regional Finals on TBS (Saturday) and CBS (Sunday) averaged 10.2 million viewers and a 6.0/13 rating/share, both up +11% respectively from last year (9.2 million viewers and 5.4/11 rating/share).
Sunday’s Regional Final thriller between North Carolina and Kentucky was watched by an average of 15.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched Regional Final game (Saturday or Sunday) since 2005 (17.9 million viewers). The game peaked with 22.1 million viewers from 7:15-7:30 p.m. ET. The Kentucky vs. North Carolina game is up +5% from the comparable game window on CBS in 2015 (Duke-Gonzaga).
In addition, NCAA March Madness Live has generated an all-time record 88 million live video streams during this year’s tournament, an increase of 31% over last year. Engagement across official March Madness social media handles continues to increase, garnering 53.5 million engagements through Sunday for an increase of 75% over last year.
Linear TV Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Live + SD data stream, Fast Nationals for the 2017 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, through Elite 8 round compared historical NCAA Tournament through 1991.
Digital: Conviva