NCAA Tournament TV Ratings Shatter Records, Proving NIL And Portal Didn’t Kill Interest In College Sports

Following a weekend filled with buzzer-beaters and entertaining games across the NCAA Tournament, it's clear, judging by the television ratings, that fans have not checked out.

That should not come as a shock to basketball fans, given that there have been plenty of storylines over the past four days that prove the sport is continuing to grow. 

It's clear that people still enjoy watching college basketball, even though changes over the years with NIL and the transfer portal were going to be the perceived death of the sport. Okay, I'm glad we got that talking point out of the way. 

Whether it was St. John's clinching a spot in the Sweet Sixteen thanks to Dylan Darling scoring his first points of the game as the clock expired, or Alvaro Folgueiras hitting a last-second three-point shot in Iowa's shocking upset of No. 1 Florida, advertisers who have purchased real estate during the NCAA Tournament have to be thrilled. 

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Coming off a strong start to March Madness last week, with 9.8 million viewers across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV tuning in for Thursday's start of coverage outside the "First Four," the numbers kept rising with fans glued to their televisions for a loaded weekend. 

By the way, those numbers from the first day are at an increase of 6% compared to last year's tournament. And, even though the Nielson ratings changed last summer with Big Data + Panel approach, we are obviously not seeing a decline in viewership. 

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This past weekend drew the largest audience for the second round of March Madness since 1993, averaging 11 million viewers, which is an increase of 7%. 

How big of a number did CBS Sports and TNT Sports pull in for Sunday's early window of games that saw St. John's defeat Kansas, Iowa stun Florida and Tennessee knocking off Virginia? 

That would be an average of 19.7 million viewers, which was the NCAA Tournament's "most-watched window" in March Madness history, with a 29% increase compared to last season. 

These record-setting numbers should not surprise fans that were not buying the whole "NIL will ruin college athletics" narrative that some were pushing over the past few years. If anything, we are seeing an increase of fans tuning in to watch the product. 

Sure, there is always confusion about why Turner Sports decides to dedicate time-slots to only two games in the early afternoon. Compared to the opening rounds, this tactic continues to pay off for the networks. 

College Sports Viewership Was On The Brink Of Death, Right? 

I think we can all agree that there are changes that need to be made regarding how the transfer portal works, or the unrelenting eligibility issues that often times end up being litigated in a local courtroom. 

And while this will be an ongoing topic of conversation over the next few years, with Congress passing around different legislation in hopes of finding a workable solution for all sides, fans have made it clear that they still care for the product enough to turn on the television or attend a game. 

NCAA Tournament TV Ratings Continue To Show Americans Love Basketball, But Not NBA

The same cannot be said for the NBA, which averaged 4.4 million viewers for the opening round of the 2025 playoffs. The second round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend had an average 9 more million viewers than the 2025 NBA Finals. 

Even with the Nielsen ratings undergoing a change which gave college basketball a boost compared to its professional counterpart, the influx in viewership for viewers is notable. 

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NCAA Tournament TV Ratings Shatter Records, Proving NIL And Portal Didn’t Kill College Sports Interest. (Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

This argument between professional hoops compared to college could be made until we're all blue in the face. The NBA is proud of its numbers, and that's great for those advertising partners who spend their money on the product. 

But for the past few years, the narrative that some people outside of college athletics wanted to push was that this whole squabble over NIL and the transfer portal would lead to a decline in its numbers. Fans would stop tuning in because the collegiate world had suddenly looked more like the professional model. 

Maybe the lack of "Cinderella" storylines this week will change viewership for the Sweet Sixteen, though I strongly doubt it. 

That argument is already running its course, with people complaining the NCAA Tournament isn’t as exciting because it lacks "Cinderella" teams, but are the same ones upset because the Final Four isn’t filled with top-tier blue blood teams.

I guess we'll find out later this week. But, clearly, fans have not lost interest in watching college sports.