The second ever all-top seed mens Final Four delivered two tight games and two big TV audiences on Saturday.
Fast national ratings from Nielsen have the two games averaging about 15.3 million viewers, the best mark for the mens Final Four since 2017 (with the caveat that Nielsen didnt include out of home viewing in its measurement until three years after that). Thats up 19 percent from a year ago (about 12.8 million viewers) on TBS, TNT and TruTV, and 24 percent above CBS last time showing the Final Four in 2023. The early game, a 79-73 win for Florida over Auburn, drew 14.6 million viewers, up from 11.4 million for the same window a year ago. Houstons 70-67 comeback victory over Duke in the late game averaged 16 million viewers, a 13 percent gain on the late window in 2024. CBS coverage peaked at 20.4 million viewers.
The Houston-Duke game was the most watched of the 2025 tournament so far and also surpassed every game in the 2024 bracket. Final numbers for Saturdays games will be available Tuesday, and its likely that theyll adjust up a little from the fast national numbers.
The womens Final Four on Friday fell by a substantial amount, as expected after last years record-setting viewership. The two games both fairly lopsided wins by defending champ South Carolina (over Texas) and Connecticut (over UCLA) averaged 3.9 million viewers on ESPN in the fast nationals, down 65 percent from 11 million last year. Still, it was the third highest average audience for the womens Final Four since ESPN gained exclusive rights to the womens version of March Madness in 1995, behind only last year and 2023 (4.5 million viewers).