College Basketball TV Ratings: Most-watched Sweet 16, Elite 8 games of 2026 NCAA Tournament
Heading into the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, TV ratings continue to rise, CBS Sports and TNT Sports said. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 also delivered for the networks. Through the first two weekends of March Madness, viewership is up 9% and on track to be the most-watched tournament since 1993.
Of course, part of that increase can be attributed to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement, which debuted last fall. But CBS and TNT Sports are still getting big TV ratings wins as part of a strong year for college basketball. SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter Now, the stage is set for the Final Four this weekend in Indianapolis.
Here are the most-watched Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, per college basketball TV ratings data obtained by On3. TruTV figures are via Programming Insider and Awful Announcing’s Manny Soloway . Elite 8: UConn vs.
Duke Date/Time: March 29, 5:05 p. m. ET Channel: CBS Viewers: 13.
427 million An average of 13. 4 million viewers tuned to CBS as UConn rallied from 19 points down to defeat Duke and punch its ticket to the Final Four. That includes a peak of 18.
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