Big television ratings were attained during the 2023 NCAA basketball tournament. The men’s competition this year reportedly attracted one of the highest audiences in recent history, according to Sports Business Journal.

9.2 million people tuned in on CBS, truTV, TBS, and TNT combined. With an average of 9.3 million viewers over the four periods of the day on the four networks, Friday’s First Round set a new record. The window averaged 11.7 million viewers on Friday during early primetime, the highest figure ever for that time period, with highlights including No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson’s shock of No. 1 Purdue and the Kentucky-Providence game. The strongest opening day in eight years was Thursday, which had an average of 8.35 million viewers across all periods.

Uncertain factors may have contributed to the increase in viewers for the men’s tournament, but the first day of the competition saw a 2% increase over the first day of the competition in 2022. According to Sports Business Journal, the Thursday early afternoon session averaged 6.8 million viewers across TNT, TBS, CBS, and truTV, setting a new high and up 15% from the previous year. The top game on Thursday at 9:40 p.m. ET was Tennessee-Louisiana on CBS, which averaged 3.48 million viewers. TNT’s broadcast of the Auburn-Iowa game at 6:42 p.m. on Thursday topped cable with 3.44 million viewers.

The Sweet 16 begins today with Michigan State (7) vs. Kansas St. (3); FL Atlantic (9) vs. Tennessee (4); San Diego ST .(5) vs. Alabama (1); Arkansas (8) vs. UConn (4); Gonzaga (3) vs. UCLA (2); and Miami (5) vs. Houston (1). There are surprises in every March Madness. The top seeds struggle in the opening round. Nothing has changed this year. No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 seeds Virginia, Arizona, and Purdue, respectively, were eliminated from the competition.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s upset of Purdue was just the second occasion in March Madness history that a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed, according to CNN. – Steve Sijenyi