Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, ‘Inside Out Classic’ animated NHL game up 74% from last year’s animated alt-cast; ESPN sees 9.9 million viewers for final round of NCAA Women’s March Madness tournament; and more.

TNT Sports & CBS Sports Deliver Most Watched NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game in Seven Years with 18.3 Million Viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV

CBS Sports and TNT Sports’ coverage of Monday’s National Championship Game — Michigan defeating UConn on TBS, TNT, truTV and HBO Max — averaged 18.3 million viewers, the most watched Championship Game since 2019. It was also the most-watched National Championship Game ever on TNT Sports, garnering a 23% increase vs. 2024 Championship Game on TNT Sports platforms. The telecast peaked with 20.4 million viewers from 11-11:15 p.m. ET.

The 2026 Men’s Final Four averaged 14.2 million viewers, up 11% vs. 2024. Coverage included the Fab Five altcast during the Michigan-Arizona game, which was trending on social media throughout the night and delivered the most watched altcast on TNT Sports in eight years.

TNT Sports and CBS Sports’ combined coverage of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship set new marks across all platforms, including delivering the second most watched tournament since 1994 and culminating with the most watched in seven years.

Overall, the 2026 NCAA Tournament across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV averaged 10.9 million viewers, up 7% vs. last year, and the second-most watched Tournament since 1994.

CBS Sports and TNT Sports set new marks throughout this year’s tournament, including the most watched First Four under the traditional format, the most watched First Round ever, and the most watched Second Round since 1993, as well as registering increases in every Sweet 16 and Elite 8 game window.

The 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament smashed records across social platforms, collectively setting a new all-time mark for NCAA Tournament content views by a wide margin with nearly 4 billion total views, up 191% vs. 2025.

March Madness men’s basketball accounts generated 1.4 billion content views, up a whopping 189% vs. 2025 and a new all-time NCAA Men’s Tournament record for the brand. Bleacher Report and House of Highlights also drew another 1.3 billion content views of NCAA Tournament content, setting a new all-time mark for those platforms.

NCAA, March Madness, Elite 8, Sweet 16, First Four, Final Four and Road to the Final Four are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. 

ESPN Heats Up Q1 with Record Prime Time, Decade‑Best Viewership

Driven by widespread fan engagement and a robust slate of live sports and studio programs, ESPN closed the first quarter of 2026 with one of its strongest viewing performances of the past decade, including its largest Nielsen Q1 prime time average audience on record.

Large audiences for the NFL Divisional Round game, the College Football Playoff National Championship, women’s and men’s college basketball, NHL games and more were among the factors contributing to ESPN’s strong first quarter viewership. In addition, many of ESPN’s signature studio shows enjoyed their most-viewed Q1 on record.

On its primary network, in prime time (8-11 p.m. ET), ESPN averaged 2.5M viewers, a 10% year-over-year increase and ESPN’s largest prime time average on record. ESPN had an average minute audience of 937K during the three months, an 8% increase compared to last year and the network’s best first-quarter average since 2017.

ESPN’s total day viewership superlatives in Nielsen Q1 were enhanced by:

January viewership was up 12% year-over-year and was ESPN’s second-best month on record, trailing only January 2015.
ESPN had its largest February average since 2019.
March was up 7% year-over-year and was ESPN’s best March since 2019.

More Nielsen Q1 Success

Across ESPN and ESPN on ABC combined, total viewership reached 154.6B minutes, up 7% year-over-year and ranking as the best first quarter for the two since 2006.
During the quarter, total consumption across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN on ABC reached 175.7B minutes, representing a 7% increase year-over-year, according to Nielsen. The quarter marks ESPN’s best first-quarter delivery since 2015.
ESPN2 delivered its best Q1 since 2019.

2026 College Basketball Crown Scores Big on FOX and FS1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Peaked at 1.18 million viewers on FOXAveraged 950,000 viewers on FOXUp +16% YOY and +36% over the 2026 Men’s NIT final average

SEMIFINALS

Averaged 810,000 viewers on FOXUp +15% YOY and +7% over the 2026 Men’s NIT semifinals average

OVERALL

The 2026 College Basketball Crown tournament averaged 460k viewers on FOX and FS1Up +77% YOY and +59% over the 2026 Men’s NIT tournament average

ESPN Delivers Stellar 2025-26 Women’s College Basketball Campaign

ESPN’s expansive coverage of the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season finished Sunday in Phoenix, Ariz., with the national title bout between No.1 South Carolina and No. 1 UCLA. The battle of the top seeds scored 9.9 million viewers, the third most-viewed women’s college basketball championship game on ESPN networks and up 15% from last year’s title matchup. The showdown peaked with 10.7 million viewers as UCLA took home its first NCAA trophy. The game ranks as ESPN’s third most-watched all-time even with the third-largest margin of victory on record for the championship.

The new alt-cast Courtside at the Women’s Final Four Presented by AT&T recorded 771,000 viewers on ESPN/ESPNU during the Championship Sunday window in its first season.

Leading into the championship matchup, NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Capital One pregame show recorded 2.5 million viewers. ESPN’s post-game studio programming, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Post-Game Show Presented by Nissan, registered 759,000 viewers as the Bruins cut down the nets in Phoenix.

The National Semifinals scored 5.2 million viewers to become the second most-watched since ESPN acquired the rights in 1996. South-Carolina/UConn sits as the fourth-best Final Four game on ESPN networks, averaging 5.4 million viewers. The early game peaked with 7.7 million viewers as the Gamecocks advanced to the National Championship. The late semifinal featuring Texas and UCLA finished with 5 million viewers and peaked with 5.2 million, becoming the fifth most-watched NCAA semifinal on ESPN networks.

“We are thrilled with the continued momentum we have seen across women’s basketball this season,” said Dan Margulis, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions. “We delivered our strongest regular season performance in 17 years, the second-best NCAA Tournament overall and continued to grow excitement around the game. That success reflects the dedication of the student-athletes on the court, as well as the commitment of ESPN, the conferences and the NCAA to grow the game of women’s basketball.”

This year’s NCAA Women’s March Madness (58 games) across ESPN networks averaged 1.3 million viewers, up +5% year-over-year. The 2026 Tournament featured 41 games across ABC and ESPN, tying last year’s mark for the most across both networks.

This year’s run marks ESPN networks’ second most-watched women’s NCAA Tournament, behind only the recording-breaking 2024 season. Prior to the last four Women’s NCAA Tournaments, no game on ESPN networks topped the six million-viewer threshold –nine games have now delivered above that mark, showcasing the continued growth of the sport.

Additionally, this year’s tournament had 21 games with over one million viewers, topping last year’s total.

Viewership Success by Round:

Elite 8: 2.7 million viewersThird most-watched Elite 8 on recordNotre Dame/UConn (3.1M – 4th), Duke/UCLA (2.8M – 8th), TCU/South Carolina (2.7M – 9th) all rank within the Top 10 for the most-watched Elite 8 games on record
Sweet 16: 1.6 million viewersThird most-watched Sweet 16 on recordESPN averaged 1.4 million viewers across its six games, registering the network’s second-best Sweet 16 ever, up 2% YoY.This year scored three of the top 10 Sweet 16 games of all-time: Kentucky/Texas (2.2M – 6th), Louisville/Michigan (2.0M – 8th), UNC/UConn (2.0M – 10th)UNC/UConn was also the second most-watched weekday Sweet 16 game ever
Second Round: 1.0 million viewers, up 3% YoYSecond most-watched Second Round on record behind only 2024ESPN averaged its second-best viewership for this round with 1.1 million viewersUSC/South Carolina (1.8M – 4th), Syracuse/UConn (1.5M – 7th), Notre Dame/Ohio State (1.5M – 8th) and Virginia/Iowa (1.4M – 10th) all rank within the Top 10 for most-watched Second Round games on recordVirginia/Iowa on ESPN peaked with 1.9 million viewers (on a Monday afternoon)
First Round: 401,000 viewers, up 9% YoYSecond most-consumed First Round on record with 1.3 billion minutes of live tournament games watchedSecond most-watched First Round since 2013 (fewer national linear windows)ESPN scored its second-best First Round since 2008 – averaging 515,000 viewers, up 10% YoYUTSA/UConn (970,000) and Southern/South Carolina (958,000) finished as the sixth and seventh most-watched First Round games on record, respectivelyTennessee/NC State averaged 767,000 viewers, the most-watched weekday First Round game ever
First Four: 341,000 viewers, up 93% from 2024-25Most-watched First Four on record (since the round began in 2022)Richmond/Nebraska registered 456,000 viewers, the most-watched First Four game on record
Stephen F. Austin/Missouri State (354,000), Arizona State/Virginia (314,000) and Samford/Southern (237,000) now rank as the second, third and fourth most-watched First Fours, respectively
Champ Week: Conference Championship Sunday once again saw growth across ESPN, including record-best performances from the ACC and Big 12.SEC Championship (Texas/South Carolina) scored 1.4 million viewersThe second-best SEC Champ game on record
ACC Championship (Louisville/Duke) delivered 955,000 viewers, up 19% year-over-yearBest ACC Champ game on record
Big 12 Championship (West Virginia/TCU) registered 853,000 viewers, up 12% year-over-yearBest Big 12 Champ game on recordWomen’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm averaged 572,000 viewers from the SEC Championship, up 44% YoY.

Regular Season: Women’s college basketball delivered its most-watched regular season on ESPN networks since 2008-09. Viewership for the 2025-26 campaign finished 19% above the historic 2024-25 regular season. In all, the 89 women’s games across ESPN networks averaged 330,000 viewers.

It was also the most-consumed season on record for ESPN networks with more than 3.6 billion total minutes watched of live women’s college basketball games. In addition, ESPN networks scored 20 games with more than 500,000 viewers during the regular season – the most on record in a single season, topping the ’24-’25 campaign by five games.

ESPN networks were home to six of the top 10 women’s college basketball regular season games across all networks and 29 of the top 30 on cable.

The Valentine’s Day matchup between South Carolina and LSU finished as the top game across all networks this season with 1.7 million viewers. The game peaked with 2.2 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second-most watched regular season game since 2010.

ABC and ESPN had a combined 42 games on their networks this season, the most ever.

Women’s College GameDay: The four regular season Women’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm shows were up 23% year-over-year and the show from Baton Rouge (Feb. 14) delivered 1.2 million viewers, the best regular season episode on record.

The ESPN Women’s Tournament Challenge set a new all-time record with more than 3.4 million completed brackets, up 5% over 2025.

Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers Game and Real-Time Animated ‘Inside Out Classic’ Delivers Strong Viewership

Inside Out Classic across Disney Channel and Disney XD is +76% vs. 2024 Big City GreensTraditional telecast of Washington-New York averaged 720K viewers, +77% vs. last season’s NHL on ESPN averageNHL on ESPN networks +27% YoYSeason to date: Thru 44 games, NHL on ESPN and ABC is averaging 798K viewers

CBS Sports and TNT Sports Posting Record Viewership Through Elite Eight

Most-watched NCAA Tournament since 1993, averaging 10.3 million viewers through Elite Eight across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, Up +9%UConn – Duke in Elite Eight peaked with 18.9 million viewers on CBS for thrilling conclusion. Game averaged 13.4 million viewers, up 15%Sweet 16 early primetime window on Friday (Duke – St. John’s and Michigan – Alabama) averaged 14.2 million viewers, up +38% and the most-watched since 1992 for that windowEvery game window in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight delivered year-over-year viewership increases

YES’ Early Season Yankees Viewership Numbers

YES’ Marlins-Yankees Home Opener on Friday, April 3, generated a Total Audience Delivery of 346,000 average viewers in the New York DMA per Nielsen. This afternoon telecast was the #1 pro sports telecast in Total Audience Delivery for that entire day in the New York DMA. Total Audience Delivery for that game peaked at 407,000 total viewers during the 4:15-4:30 pm ET quarter hour.

YES viewers consumed more than 62.3 million minutes of the April 3 Yankees game, the highest number of minutes consumed for a YES weekday afternoon game in 2 years.

The April 3 telecast was YES’ second weekday afternoon game this season with an average Total Audience Delivery of more than 345,000 total viewers (348,000 for March 27 Opening Day). The March 27 telecast was YES’ most-viewed weekday afternoon game in two years.

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Saturday’s Event Earned a 0.65 Household Rating

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Saturday’s event earned a 0.65 household rating with an average of 1.165 million viewers tuned in on The CW up +11% YOY where Rockingham also aired on Easter Weekend in 2025 (1.054 million)The race ranked as the #1 telecast of the week on The CW for the 8th time in 8 races of the 2026 NOAPS seasonAt peak, 1.5 million viewers were tuned in (5:00PM)NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series: Friday’s race earned a 0.18 household rating with an average of 322,000 viewers tuned in on FS1 down -4% YOY (337,000)At peak, 413,000 viewers were tuned in (6:15PM-6:29PM)Weekend Motorsports, ranked by audience size:NOAPS (Rockingham): 1.165 million viewers on The CWNCTS (Rockingham): 322,000 viewers on FS1

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire – Aired Saturday, April 4th on The CW

U.S. Rating                                                                                                         2026: 0.65Up +12% over 2025 Rockingham on The CW (0.58)Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)2026: 1.165 millionUp +11% over 2025 Rockingham on The CW (1.054)

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series Black’s Tire 200 – Aired Friday, April 3rd on FS1

U.S. Rating                                                                                                         2026: 0.18Down -5% over 2025 Rockingham on FS1 (0.19)Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)2026: 322,000Down -4% over 2025 Rockingham on FS1 (337,000)

ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched NCAA Women’s Final Four on Record

2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Game

ESPN delivered the third largest audience since its exclusive rights agreement began in 1996, behind only 2024’s record-breaking game (South Carolina-Iowa) and 2023 (LSU-Iowa)
Averaged 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 10.7 million viewers
Audience was up 15% from last year’s title game
Demos: Women (+25 YoY, 46% of audience), P18-49 (+18% YoY), P2-17 (+34% YoY)
The Courtside at the Women’s Championship alternate telecast contributed 771K viewers (ESPN & ESPNU)

2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four

Second most-watched National Semifinals since ESPN acquired the rights in 1996, averaging 5.2 million viewers
South Carolina/UConn averaged 5.4 million viewers and peaked with 7.7 million viewers
Fourth-best Final Four game on ESPN networks
Up 47% YoY
Texas/UCLA finished with 5 million viewers and peaked with 5.2 million viewers
Fifth-best Final Four game on ESPN networks
Up 19% YoY

Nielsen Releases Average Viewership (Regular Season and NCAA Tournament) For the Men’s and Women’s Final Four Teams

Men’s Final Four average viewing per game:

UConn (1,686,000) vs Illinois (1,741,000)Arizona (1,462,000) vs Michigan (2,221,000)

Women’s Final Four average viewing per game:

South Carolina (752,000) vs UConn (631,000)Texas (704,000) vs UCLA (673,000)

Netflix Steps Up to the Plate: MLB Opening Night on Netflix Scores 3 Million US Viewers

The 2026 MLB season debuted on Netflix March 25, with an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 3M US viewers (Live+SD) tuning into the game, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. Some other US highlights:Highest primetime Opening Day viewership among P18–49 (1.38M) since 2017.Highest primetime Opening Day among P18–34 (636K)* since 2017.The game represents the youngest MLB Opening Day audience in a decade.The campaign has generated 200M owned global social impressions and 6M engagements to date. MLB Opening Night presented by Adobe saw the New York Yankees secure a 7-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The game served as the opening act for Netflix’s three-event MLB slate. The action continues later this year with the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 13 and MLB at Field of Dreams on August 13, both streaming live only on Netflix.

ESPN’s UFL Opening Weekend Hits Over 700,000 Viewers

ESPN’s two-game opening weekend slate averaged 718,000 viewers, up 50% from last season. The St. Louis Battlehawks vs. DC Defenders drew 938,000 viewers, making it the second-most-watched UFL telecast on ESPN. (FOS). 

ESPN Marches on With the Third Most-Watched NCAA Women’s Elite Eight Round on Record

Notre Dame vs UConn3.1 million viewers on ABCFourth most-watched elite eight game on recordDuke vs UCLA2.8 million viewers on ABCEighth most-watched elite eight game on recordTCU vs South Carolina2.7 million viewers on ESPNNinth most-watched elite eight game on recordMichigan vs UT Austin2.2 million viewers on ESPN

NASCAR Cup Series: Ranked #1 Sports Event of the Day on Cable

NASCAR Cup Series: The April 29th race ranked as the #1 sports event of the day on cable TV, earning a 1.32 household rating and 2.4 million viewers per minute on FS1

Viewership was off -1% versus 2025 Martinsville I; Share for the race was up +1% YOYThe race also ranked as the #1 sports event of the week on Fox Sports 1 ahead of MLB, UFLAt peak, 2.9 million viewers were tuned in 6:15PM-6:30PMNASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Saturday’s event earned a 0.66 household rating on The CW with an average of 1.2 million viewers tuned in per minute, up +18% YOY and becoming the most-watched NOAPS Spring race at Martinsville 2021-2026The race ranked as the #1 telecast of the week on The CW for the 7th time in 7 races of the 2026 NOAPS seasonAt peak, 1.3 million viewers were tuned in 5:30PM-5:45PMWeekend Motorsports, ranked by audience size:NCS (Martinsville I): 2.394 million viewers on FS1NOAPS (Martinsville I): 1.198 million viewers on The CWIndyCar (Birmingham): 906,000 viewers on FOXMotoGP (USA GP): 471,000 viewers on FOX (Sunday opposite NCS)

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 – Aired Sunday, March 29th on FS1

U.S. Rating                                                                                                         2026: 1.32 on FS1Up +4% over 2025 Martinsville I on FS1 (1.27)Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)2026: 2,394 (2.4 million)Down -1% versus 2025 Martinsville I on FS1 (2.4 million)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series NFPA 250 – Aired Saturday, March 28th on The CW

U.S. Rating                                                                                                         2026: 0.66 on The CWUp +16% over 2025 Martinsville I on The CW (0.57)Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)2026: 1,198 (1.2 million)Up +18% over 2025 Martinsville I on The CW (1.0 million)

MLB Opening Day Hits Viewership Records on NBC Sports

Largest MLB opening day audience on record for multi-game presentation2.7 million total audience delivery across btoh gamesMost-watched afternoon game ever: 2.3MMost-watched primetime game since 2017: 3.2M

ESPN Scores Third Most-Watched NCAA Women’s Sweet 16 Ever

Averaged 1.6M viewers

Kentucky vs UT Austin2.2 million viewers on ABCSixth most-watched Sweet 16 game on recordLouisville vs Michigan2.0 million viewers on AABCEighth most-watched Sweet 16 game on recordUNC vs UConn2.0 million viewers on ESPNSecond most-watched weekday Sweet 16 game on record

FOX Saturday Baseball Delivers Its Best Season-Opening Telecast Since 2021

2,591,000 viewers tuned-in to FOX Saturday Baseball for a two-game slate highlighted by the New York Yankees’ victory over the San Francisco Giants

FOX MLB’s best season-opening telecast since 2021Up +45% vs. last year’s FOX Saturday Baseball lineup on MLB Opening Weekend (1,783,000)Local Home Markets: Kansas City (7.4), Atlanta (3.8), New York (3.5), San Francisco (2.9)

NBC Sports Delivers Largest MLB Opening Day Audience on Record for Multi-Game Presentation

Major League Baseball delivered multiple viewership milestones in its return to NBC and Peacock with a doubleheader Thursday, March 26, on Opening Day presented by Adobe. Among the highlights:

The two-game presentation (Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Mets in the afternoon and Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers in primetime) delivered the largest MLB Opening Day audience on record for a multi-game presentation by a single network, averaging 2.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics.The Diamondbacks-Dodgers primetime game, which opened with the Dodgers raising their 2025 World Series banner, averaged 3.2 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, marking the most-watched Opening Day primetime game since 2017* (Cubs-Cardinals, following the Cubs’ first World Series title in 108 years).Despite major head-to-head sports competition on Thursday night, Diamondbacks-Dodgers also delivered the most-watched MLB Thursday audience on record in the first half of the season (before the All-Star break).*The Pirates-Mets 1 p.m. ET game averaged 2.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, marking the most-watched Opening Day afternoon game on record.

*excludes COVID-impacted 2020 season

NESN Shatters Streaming, Subscription Records During Bruins-Red Sox Crossover Week

NESN announces record-breaking streaming, engagement and subscription growth last week, driven by an electric convergence of the Boston Red Sox opening series and the Boston Bruins’ late-season playoff push. In total, from Monday, March 23 through Sunday, March 29, NESN 360 had a 52% increase in unique streams, while subscriptions surged to their highest level – 10% above their previous peak set last year.

Following a robust multi-platform marketing campaign, the Red Sox opening-series ranked as the most-watched three-game series in NESN 360 history, and average unique viewers were 60% higher than last year’s opening series. Meanwhile, the Bruins delivered their four largest regular-season streaming audiences ever on the platform – highlighted by Saturday’s matchup against Minnesota as the most-streamed Bruins game of all time. And Sunday’s playoff-clinching Boston Fleet game against Minnesota was its second-highest viewed game on NESN 360 of all-time.

Subscriber growth matched the surge in viewership, and was equally historic. New sign-ups during the season-opening week were 31% higher than last year, pushing total subscribers to an all-time high and up 68% from this time last year. 

Red Sox Opening Week

The March 26 opener against Cincinnati was the most-streamed game in NESN history, surpassing the previous record set during Roman Anthony’s debut on June 9 and 38% above opening day 2025. With a 5.64 Household rating, the opener was 19% higher than a year ago.The finale against Cincinnati marked the most-streamed Sunday game in Sox history.On Opening Day, streaming ad revenue increased 106% year-over-year from last Opening Day. 

These gains build on a 2025 season during which DTC subscribers more than doubled, and total Red Sox streaming minutes increased 232%. 

Bruins Playoff Push

The record-setting Bruins stretch included:

Saturday’s game against Minnesota was the highest-streamed Bruins game ever on NESN 360.Sunday’s game against Columbus stands as the second-highest regular-season audience on NESN 360, and third-highest overall in platform history.Games against Toronto (Tuesday) and Buffalo (Wednesday) rank third and fourth, respectively, among regular-season streaming audiences.

“This past week captured the power of our historic franchises,” said David Wisnia, President and CEO of NESN. “Our record-breaking performances underscore how deeply fans are engaging with both teams on NESN and NESN 360, whether at home, on the go, and across every screen.” 

With both teams surging into spring, NESN continues to expand its leadership in regional sports streaming, offering fans unparalleled access to live coverage and exclusive content across digital and linear platforms.