The news: As March Madness approaches, advertisers are preparing for a key opportunity to capitalize on record-breaking viewership and rising engagement across both men’s and women’s tournaments.
- 45% of March Madness viewers don’t watch regular-season college basketball, per Nexxen Discovery data shared with EMARKETER.
- Gen Zers and Millennials are highly attentive to the tournament through brackets, micro-betting, and fantasy leagues.
- 89% of live sports fans co-watch content with family and friends—positioning March Madness as an opportunity to capitalize on the potential of co-viewing moments.
- The NCAA women’s tournament saw engagement skyrocket 334% in March 2025.
Zooming out: March Madness is quickly becoming one of the most important investments for advertisers looking to reach massive live sports audiences.
- The 2025 NCAA men’s tournament marked the event’s highest viewership through the second round since 1993, with about 9.4 million views per game. In turn, marketers gained access to both an already established audience and an emerging audience amid growth in the women’s tournament.
- Like many modern live sports, March Madness stands out because it offers the opportunity to reach consumers both on traditional TV networks like TBS and CBS and on digital channels like HBO Max and Paramount+.
- The rise of name, image, and likeness (NIL) partnerships gives marketers a unique opportunity to work directly with popular athletes, turning them into influencers. With sports fans showing interest in athletes’ social media content, NIL partnerships enhance the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Implications for marketers: Major sporting events represent key cultural moments where brands can connect with engaged audiences, capture attention at scale, and tap into the heightened emotion and sense of community that surround shared experiences.
Marketers will further benefit from placing more attention on the NCAA women’s tournament as interest in women’s sports ramps up. Ads during women’s sporting events have a 40% greater impact on consumer engagement than the average primetime TV ad, per EDO.