Report: NCAA Says Kansas-UNC Was Most Watched National Title Game on Cable in History

Per the NCAA, viewership this year was up 4% from last year’s championship.

The NCAA said that Monday’s match-up between Kansas and UNC is the most-watched NCAA Division I men’s basketball national championship game on cable television. 

The 2021 championship between Baylor and Gonzaga attracted an average of 16.9 million viewers on CBS, per CNBC. Per the NCAA, viewership this year was up 4% from the Bulldog and Bears matchup. 

.@KUHoops vs. @UNC_Basketball is most-watched NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship Game ever on cable television, up 4% vs. 2021 pic.twitter.com/dGfqmVAjvr

— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) April 5, 2022

Per Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, it looks like the game attracted 18.1 million viewers, with streaming services factored in.

Looking like Kansas-North Carolina will finish with 18.1 million viewers with March Madness Live streaming factored in. +4% from Baylor-Gonzaga last year on CBS (with MML included).

Below the 18.5 million that UNC-Duke semifinal got on Saturday night with MML https://t.co/x2VF6BWPXy

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) April 5, 2022

The instant thriller between the Jayhawks and Tar Heels ended in with a 72–69 Kansas win after a highly contested March Madness tournament for all teams involved.

The women’s national championship between South Carolina and UConn drew nearly 5 million viewers and peaked at 5.91 million. It represented an 18% increase from the previous year and the highest viewership for a women’s national title game since 2004.

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