College Basketball TV Ratings: Most-watched men’s games of the 2025-26 season

Monday’s national championship game capped a 2025-26 men’s college basketball season that saw a surge in TV ratings. On3 is breaking down the most-watched games of the year.

The title game between Michigan and UConn averaged 18.3 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV. As a whole, the 2026 NCAA Tournament drew 10.9 million viewers on average, marking a 7% increase from last year and the second most-watched March Madness since 1994. It followed up a regular season which also saw ratings rise across all major networks.

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On3 tracked TV ratings data throughout the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season. Here are the most-watched games of the year, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel figures.

National championship: Michigan vs. UConn

Date/Time: April 6, 8:50 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS + TNT + truTV
Viewers: 18.3 million

Michigan‘s victory over UConn, which secured the Wolverines’ first national title since 1989, averaged 18.3 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV. That includes a peak audience of 20.4 million as it became the most-watched national championship since 2019 and the top game of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

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Final 4: Michigan vs. Arizona

Date/Time: April 4, 9:08 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS + TNT + truTV
Viewers: 14.29 million

Michigan‘s dominant victory over Arizona averaged 14.293 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV, making it the second most-watched game of the year. That includes 811,000 people watching the “Fab Five” alt-cast on truTV.

Final 4: UConn vs. Illinois

Date/Time: April 4, 6:09 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS + TNT + truTV
Viewers: 14.16 million

Although Final Four viewership was down compared to last year, UConn’s win over Illinois was still the third most-watched men’s college basketball game of the year. An average of 14.16 million viewers tuned in across TBS, TNT and truTV as the Huskies fought off a late surge from the Fighting Illini to punch their ticket to the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-basketball-tv-ratings-most-220746208.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-08 22:07:00

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