Boost Brand Awareness During March Madness

Let the madness begin! March Madness kicks off 3/19 and there’s no better time to increase exposure than during the most popular basketball tournament. There are still national and regional spots available.

2024 marked a historic year for not just March Madness, but college basketball and the sports industry as a whole. For the first time in history, the women’s March Madness title game drew more viewers than the men’s, averaging 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, peaking at 24 million viewers. The women’s March Madness championship game in 2024 was the most watched women’s college basketball game on record, most watched college basketball game overall since 2019, and the most watched sporting event since 2019 (excluding football and the Olympics).

Men’s basketball experienced an increase in viewing during March Madness as well, with an average of 14.82 million viewers tuning in on TBS and TNT to watch the championship game in 2024. With so many games, viewership tends to fluctuate depending on the day. Throughout the men’s basketball tournament in 2024, 95% of viewership came in the first two weeks of the tournament. Taking a closer look at each round, 75% of impressions being in Round 1 and 2. There could be many reasons for such high viewership, but the most likely reason is the cultural phenomenon that is March Madness brackets. The first two weeks, Round 1 and 2 in particular, have the most teams still in the game. Many people’s brackets are new and there’s optimism for a perfect bracket (though it rarely happens).

Cultural phenomena such as March Madness brackets and the increasing popularity in different college sports, plays an important part in sports and television, in turn playing a crucial role in commercial viewership. Brands should take advantage of the changing landscape to follow consumers where they watch. The March Madness tournament, men’s and women’s, still has regional and national spots available.

Partner with CTV today to increase your brand awareness by following the madness of college basketball.