March
Madness

Welcome to THE REPLAY^TM, our monthly deep-dive into the performance and analytics of major sports tentpoles. With big data methodologies, our insights take time to craft, offering a fresh look in hindsight.

Throughout March Madness 2025, we examined how fans watched and where their loyalties shifted. From out-of-home spikes to changing regional dynamics, behavior evolved each round. Using advanced analytics, we identified co-viewing trends, localized hotspots, and variances in fan engagement–illuminating key audience insights leveraging VideoAmp data.

Ratings Recap

Thursday & Friday led OOH viewership with 22 telecasts aired on both nights including simulcasts, while Saturday & Sunday saw more in-home viewing with 16 & 10 telecasts, respectively.

Thursday 55,620 22,683 Total 78,305

Friday 54,216 25,655 Total 79,870

Saturday 81,602 19,794 Total 101,397

Sunday 58,943 14,527 Total 73,473

Live + SD AA (000)

Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)

TNT led in OOH share (47%) but had the lowest total audience, airing just 12 telecasts vs. CBS’s 24 telecasts.

CBS conversely saw the lowest OOH viewership percentage (15%) but saw over 3x the In-home views compared to TNT.

Live + SD AA (000)

Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)

Grand Total

3.6M

In-Home Average Total Persons (000)

1.1M

Out-Of-Home Average Total Persons (000)

4.8M

Overall Average Total Persons (000)

2.00

Average of Live SD RTG Households

# of TCs

Our
Regional
View

To compare viewership fairly, we divided the U.S. into four, Census-based regions based on telecast locations, allowing ratings analysis that accounts for differences in Household universe estimates.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Delaware, Washington DC, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Second Round.

First Round

2,155 Live + SD AA (000)
1,283 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
3,439 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
1.23 Average of Live SD RTG Households
32 # of TCs

Teams per region

Midwest: 15
South: 32
Northeast: 5
West: 12
Grand Total: 64

On average, First Round telecasts saw the largest percentage of OOH viewers, at 44%, with 1.3 Million average OOH Viewers, only bested by the Final Four’s 1.5 Million OOH viewers.

First Round telecasts also saw 34% more OOH Viewership than the National Championship telecast’s average, accounting for 1.3M average viewers, with bars and restaurants- great places to watch multiple telecasts simultaneously; making them crucial for Reach.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Second Round.

First Round viewership trends by region

Seven Rounds, Four Regions

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

First Round highlights

During 1Q25, the Southern region was estimated at over 20 million more households than the Western region (46.7M vs. 26.1M). Despite the difference in size, and the West not having a team in the Championship, both regions recorded the highest ratings growth from the First Four to the National Championship, with increases of 1009% and 1020%, respectively.
The Southern region earned the highest household rating for the National Championship telecast, with a 11.31 rating, perhaps driven by it accounting for about half of all teams represented throughout the tournament– also coming in +46% higher than the lowest rated region – the West (11.31 vs. 7.73 Household Rating).
During the first round, the Midwestern region accounted for the most teams represented in the tournament, at 15 teams, and averaged a 1.77 household rating- nearly double the household rating of the Western region (95%)- despite both regions estimated to have a similar number of total households (Midwest – 26.1M vs. West – 26.6M)
The Midwestern region also consistently earned the highest average household rating through all rounds aside from the National Championship telecast.
The Northeastern Region was the least visible in the tournament, lasting only 7 telecasts through the First and Second rounds, and ranked 3rd in overall tournament viewership, averaging a 1.86 Household Rating.
However, the Western region saw the lowest Household average rating (1.54, despite having 23 teams play throughout in the tournament).

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Sweet 16.

Second Round

4,366 Live + SD AA (000)
1,423 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
5,790 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
2.37 Average of Live SD RTG Households
18 # of TCs

Teams per region

Midwest: 8
South: 14
Northeast: 2
West: 8
Grand Total: 32

The second round drove 4.4M average in-home viewers, including 4 simulcasted telecasts, with the Southern and Western regions leading in teams represented.

Michigan vs. Texas A&M, a second-round primetime clash, ranked as the 8th most viewed telecast, fueled by massive alumni bases.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Sweet 16.

Second Round viewership trends by region

Second Round Shake Up

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Elite 8.

Sweet 16

3,406 Live + SD AA (000)
606 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
4,012 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
1.86 Average of Live SD RTG Households
12 # of TCs

Teams per region

Midwest: 3
South: 11
West: 2
Grand Total: 16

On a Ratings basis, the Regional Semi-Final round was the only round that saw a decline from a prior round– down -22% from the Second Round. (1.86 vs. 2.37 Rtg).

The Sweet 16 marked the end of Northeastern and Western representation, however the Northeast still ranked 3rd on HH viewership among all regions (1.66 HH Rtg).

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Elite 8.

Sweet 16 viewership trends by region

First Out: Northeast

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Final Four.

Elite 8

5,838 Live + SD AA (000)
954 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
6,792 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
3.05 Average of Live SD RTG Households
6 # of TCs

Teams per region

Midwest: 1
South: 7
Grand Total: 8

Texan households showed steady loyalty, setting the stage for their +74% growth into the Elite 8 and +72% surge into the Final Four. *Includes simulcasted telecasts.

High-income viewers showed up strong towards the end, with the 3/30 Michigan vs. Auburn telecast, the Final Four and Championship telecasts all pulling in 1M+ HHs with a $200K+ income.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Final Four.

Elite 8 viewership trends by region

1 vs. 7, Midwest vs. South

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Championship.

Final Four

13,462 Live + SD AA (000)
1,492 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
14,954 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
7.17 Average of Live SD RTG Households
2 # of TCs

Teams per region

South: 4
Grand Total: 4

Massive spikes from states still in the tournament: Texas: +72% growth vs. Regional Finals. Florida: +90% growth vs. previous round.

Elite matchups began drawing top investor households (having at least $100K in invested assets) and those with high discretionary income (HHs $200K).

OOH started to drop as more fans settled in for big-screen, at-home viewing– down to 10% OOH during the Final Four.

Get the full play-by-play.

Select a matchup to explore telecast-level viewership insights, or click next to explore viewership insights for Championship.

Final Four viewership trends by region

Final Face-off

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

Get the full play-by-play.

Click previous round to explore more telecast-level viewership insights for prior rounds.

Championship

Florida vs. Houston

🏆

Winner: Florida

17,628 Live + SD AA (000)
961 Out of Home Live + SD AA (000)
18,590 TOTAL with OOH Live SD (000) Total Persons
9.3 Average of Live SD RTG Households
1 # of TCs

Teams per region

South: 2
Grand Total: 2

The National Championship telecast was the highest-rated single telecast with 18.6M average viewers, including OOH.

It ironically had the lowest OOH percentage (5%) — proving fans prefer to watch the Monday night finale at home.

Texan fans tuned in heavily, 40% more likely to watch than average (12.98 vs. 9.3 Rating).

Florida fans also over-indexed, 18% more likely to watch. (11.0 vs. 9.3 Rating)

The Southern Region earned the highest regional HH Rating (11.31), capping off a tournament-long rise.

Get the full play-by-play.

Click previous round to explore more telecast-level viewership insights for prior rounds.

Championship viewership trends by region

Southern Showdown!

Hover over regions to see underlying state definitions.

This was March!

In this section we explore the top NCAA telecasts by total viewership, OOH audience volume, and OOH share—revealing where and how fans tuned in most.

This chart ranks the top five telecasts on Total Persons average audience delivery inclusive of Out-of-home viewership.

Highlights

The National Championship telecast led with 18.6M viewers, with OOH at just 5%—the lowest lift of any tournament telecast.

This chart ranks the top five telecasts on Total Persons Out-of-home average audience delivery.

Highlights

The 2nd round Drake vs. Texas Tech telecast (Saturday at 6p Eastern) led in OOH viewers, while two CBS Saturday telecasts (with 10M+ total viewers) had a similar range, placing all three among the OOH top 5.
Michigan vs. Texas A&M drew big 2nd-round viewership, ranking 8th—likely boosted by strong student/alumni fanbases.

This chart ranks the top five telecasts by percentage of Total Persons Out-of-home average audience delivery.

Highlights

First round telecasts on TNT, TBS & truTV (all five listed here) had the highest OOH %, with 60–78% of total viewership coming from OOH.

Focusing on
the Champions

Advanced Audiences help size geo-based targets fairly. Below is a by-round HH viewership trend for the two finalist states’ audiences.

Floridian households watching

Texan households watching

🏆 Championship 🏆

Percentages shown represent % of total state residents (UE) who watched the telecast

Highlights

1
Florida viewership surged early

Florida HH viewership started strong, jumping +195% from First Four to First Round, and +90% from Elite 8 to Final Four, and more than double the national average for the Regional Semi-Finals (+179%).
2
Texans tuned in later

Overall both Floridian and Texan households were approximately 13% less likely to have watched the NCAA Men’s tournament even though both states made it to the National Championship game.
3
Championship states watched less

Even though Texas lost the championship, Texan households consistently demonstrated fan loyalty, really gaining interest during the Second Round (+302% vs. prior round) and the Elite 8 (+74% vs. the prior round).

Advanced Audience Takeaways

Affluent viewers closed the tournament, with 4 telecasts having pulled 1M+ households earning $200K+, including the Championship & Final Four.

Less health-conscious homes were 16% more likely to tune in on a ratings basis compared to more health-focused households. (2.42 vs. 2.08).

The game has changed—VideoAmp helps brands win with real audience insights, not assumptions.

Let’s Talk

Methodology:
VideoAmp unifies Set Top Box and Smart TV data from 40M households and 65M devices, using rigorous cleansing and deduplication to provide the most accurate view of advanced and demographic audiences.

Sourcing:
VideoAmp, (3/16/25 – 4/7/25) Total Persons Live + Same Day data. Advanced Audiences based on Household-level, 1Q25 Experian 3P segments.

© 2025 VideoAmp, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, reproduction or distribution of this information, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from VideoAmp, Inc. All information herein is subject to VideoAmp’s Terms of Use.

March Madness

Ratings Recap

Grand Total

Our Regional View

This was March!

Focusing on the Champions

🏆 Championship 🏆

Highlights

Florida viewership surged early

Texans tuned in later

Championship states watched less

Advanced Audience Takeaways

The game has changed—VideoAmp helps brands win with real audience insights, not assumptions.

March
Madness

Our
Regional
View

Focusing on
the Champions