CBS, TNT Announce Record-Setting Viewership for Opening Round of March Madness

Thursday’s games brought in the most average viewers in the 15 years the networks have showcased all the first-round games.

The first two days of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament have become like national holidays in American culture. Plenty of fans took PTO or ended up “sick” on the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament so they could plant themselves in front of multiscreens to tune into basketball for over 12 hours each day.

It appears that fans were even more excited for this year’s first round as CBS Sports and TNT announced on Monday that this year broke viewership records on the first day of the tournament. It’s officially the best first March Madness day on record for viewership as the networks saw an average of 9.8 million people tuning in to the games last Thursday. This number is up six percent from last year. This number includes viewership from CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. Additionally, the primetime window led by the Michigan win over Howard and the VCU upset of UNC averaged 12.5 million viewers, which is the most-watched window in the first round on record.🏀Thursday’s games averaged 9.8 million viewers, the best opening day on recordHow this year’s March Madness viewership compares to previous years CBS and TNT began showing all of the March Madness games back in 2011, meaning this year’s average mark on the first day of the tournament is the best start in 15 years of registering the viewership numbers.Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University.

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