The audience for the NCAA men’s basketball championship slightly increased from last year, but the women’s final drew a larger TV crowd. The women’s championship game set a record with 18.87 million viewers, while the men’s games did not reach the same viewership numbers on average.
Key Points
Men's championship averaged 14.82 million viewers, up from last year's 14.69 million.
Women's championship game drew 18.87 million viewers, setting a record.
Men's tournament as a whole averaged 9.9 million viewers, up 3 percent year-to-year.
Women's tournament had doubled its audience before the Final Four.
Pros
Increase in viewership for the men's championship compared to the previous year.
Record-breaking viewership for the women's championship game.
Cons
Men's championship viewership was lower than the women's final.
Men's games did not have the most-watched game of the tournament.