The NCAA Tournament delivered on action during its first weekend, and viewers were tuning in by the droves
By Brad Crawford Mar 25, 2026 at 2:37 pm ET • 2 min read 
Getty Images March Madness has provided a ratings bonanza across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV over the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, shattering viewership records with a 10.7 million viewer average during the first week of action.
Following up the most-watched first round ever at 9.5 million viewers -- a 9% increase from last season's tournament -- the second round produced more record-setting numbers after becoming the most-watched Round of 32 since 1993 at 11 million viewers.
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Sunday's early primetime window featuring St. John's' thrilling win over Kansas, No. 9 seed Iowa's upset of No. 1 seed Florida and Tennessee's victory over Virginia was the most-watched singular window ever during the NCAA Tournament's first week at 19.7 million viewers. That's a 29% bump from last March, despite the lack of double-digit seeds left in the bracket.
The Red Storm and Jayhawks kept viewers entertained with a back-and-forth affair, culminating with an exciting buzzer-beater. Dylan Darling's shot off the glass was enough to push St. John's to the Sweet 16, where Rick Pitino's team will face off with No. 1 overall seed Duke this week.
There's plenty more action on the way this week with the Sweet 16 round set to tip off Thursday. Three No. 1 seeds remain -- Duke, Arizona and Michigan.
Iowa, back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, are the second-highest remaining seed, behind only No. 11 seed Texas. The Longhorns will face No. 2 seed Purdue in Thursday's opener in the West Region (7:10 p.m. ET CBS, March Madness Live). Iowa, meanwhile, faces rival (4) Nebraska in the South Region in the just second-ever Sweet 16 matchup between Big Ten teams (7:30 p.m. ET TBS, March Madness Live).
The Big Ten set a conference record with six teams advancing to the Sweet 16 and is one shy of the SEC's 2025 mark for the most by any conference. In the other South Region semifinal, No. 3 seed Illinois meets No. 2 seed Houston on Thursday night (10:09 p.m. ET TBS, March Madness Live).
In the East Region, No. 3 seed Michigan State faces No. 2 seed UConn (9:39 p.m. ET, March Madness Live), while No. 1 overall seed Duke takes on No. 5 seed St. John's on Friday (7:09 p.m. ET CBS, March Madness Live). In the Midwest Region, No. 1 seed Michigan meets No. 4 seed Alabama (7:39 p.m. ET TNT, March Madness Live), and No. 2 seed Iowa State faces No. 6 seed Tennessee (10:09 p.m. ET TBS, March Madness Live). Both Alabama and Tennessee are making their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.
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