NCAA Tournament Kicks Off with Record Viewership

On March 23rd, the NCAA men's basketball tournament kicked off with its strongest

viewership since networks like CBS and TNT started airing every game.

Back in 2011, the first three days, including the first four on Tuesday and Wednesday,

plus Thursday's opening round, averaged 9.8 million viewers nationwide.

That's a 5% bump from last year.

Thursday's first round action across CBS, TBS, TNT, and True TV drew the same 9.8

million average of 6% year over year.

Prime time slots pulled in 12.5 million on average, marking the most watched first round window,

ever.

Fans showed a big for the drama, with matchups like VCU's narrow win over North Carolina,

boosting those numbers.

The early buzz highlights how college hoops still captivates during March, meanwhile.

Tuesday and Wednesday's first four games on True TV totaled 7.5 million viewers.

Miami of Ohio's victory over SMU on Wednesday topped out at 2.8 million, the highest for

a Dayton hosted opener.

These solid ratings set the stage for an electric tournament ahead, as underdogs keep

shaking things up.

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I'm Corey with The Story.