2025-2026 TV ratings

[visitingcock]

Our friend @awhom111 sent me this list a couple of weeks ago. I was having some computer issues then and was mostly posting from my phone.


10/27 Vanderbilt-Memphis ESPNU 26,000
11/3 Duke vs Baylor ESPN 213,000
11/3 Cal vs Vanderbilt ESPNU 27,000
11/4 Tennessee vs North Carolina State ESPN2 161,000
11/4 Louisville vs UConn ESPN 448,000
11/9 USC vs North Carolina State ESPN 238,000
11/9 FSU vs UConn FS1 166,000
11/10 Oklahoma-UCLA FS1 122,000
11/11 Clemson-South Carolina ESPN2 194,000
11/12 Loyola Chicago-UConn truTV 134,000
11/12 Creighton-Nebraska FS1 197,000
11/13 South Florida-Fairfield ESPNU 28,000
11/13 Drake-Iowa BTN 146,000
11/13 UNC-UCLA ESPN2 262,000
11/14 Duke-West Virginia ESPNU 28,000
11/15 Notre Dame-Michigan NBC ???
11/15 South Carolina-USC FOX 649,000*
11/16 TCU-North Carolina State ESPN 152,000
11/16 North Dakota State-Nebraska BTN 74,000
11/16 Louisville-Clemson ESPN2 58,000
11/17 LSU-Tulane ESPNU 28,000
11/20 Davidson-Miami ESPNU 33,000
11/20 Duke-South Florida ESPNU 38,000
11/20 Iowa-Baylor ESPN2 259,000
11/21 Syracuse-Utah FS2 15,000
11/21 USC-Notre Dame ESPN 484,000
11/21 Michigan-UConn FOX 967,000*
11/22 Kentucky-Louisville CW
11/23 Syracuse-Michigan FS1 60,000
11/23 Miami (OH)-Purdue BTN 25,000
11/23 UConn-Utah FS1 124,000
11/23 George Mason-Maryland BTN 21,000
11/26 Texas-UCLA truTV 103,000
11/26 Duke-South Carolina truTV 175,000
11/27 Texas-South Carolina truTV 195,000
11/27 Duke-UCLA truTV 72,000
11/28 Abilene Christian-Northwestern ION
11/28 Missouri-Bradley ION
11/28 Butler-Dayton ION
11/28 Georgia-Kansas ION
11/29 Abilene Christian-Bradley ION
11/29 Northwestern-Missouri ION
11/29 Butler-Georgia ION
11/29 Kansas-Dayton ION
11/30 Fairfield-Iowa BTN 150,000
11/30 UConn-Xavier FS1 212,000
11/30 Saint Peter's-Rutgers BTN 19,000
11/30 Tennessee-UCLA FS1 147,000
12/2 UConn-South Florida ESPN2 239,000
12/3 Kentucky-Miami ESPN2 80,000
12/3 Georgia-Florida State ESPNU 7,000
12/3 North Carolina State-Oklahoma ESPN2 193,000
12/3 Tennessee-Stanford ESPN2 194,000
12/4 Florida-Virginia Tech ESPN2 132,000
12/4 South Carolina-Louisville ESPN 509,000
12/4 North Carolina-Texas ESPN2 204,000
12/4 Clemson-Alabama ESPNU 5,000
12/4 LSU-Duke ESPN 436,000
12/4 Notre Dame-Ole Miss ESPN2 167,000
12/6 Indiana-Illinois BTN 28,000
12/6 Iowa-Rutgers FS1 300,000
12/7 Purdue-Michigan BTN 20,000
12/7 DePaul-UConn FS1 115,000
12/7 Ohio State-Northwestern BTN 20,000
12/7 Oregon-UCLA FS1 76,000
12/7 Maryland-Minnesota BTN 78,000
12/7 Michigan State-Wisconsin BTN 68,000
12/7 Washington-USC BTN 99,000
12/9 Arizona State-Penn State BTN 26,000
12/10 Iowa-Iowa State ESPN 854,000
12/13 Oklahoma-Oklahoma State ESPNU 91,000
12/13 UConn-USC FOX
12/13 Louisiana Tech-LSU ESPNU 39,000
12/14 Baylor-Texas ABC
12/14 Penn State-South Carolina ESPN 158,000
12/14 Kansas State-Creighton FS1 14,000
12/14 Michigan State-DePaul FS1 25,000

 

[BigTenGuy]

Curious about your Iowa State-Iowa viewership number. Source? ESPN had announced it at 1,000,000:

 

[BigTenGuy]

Our friend @awhom111 sent me this list a couple of weeks ago. I was having some computer issues then and was mostly posting from my phone.


10/27 Vanderbilt-Memphis ESPNU 26,000
11/3 Duke vs Baylor ESPN 213,000
11/3 Cal vs Vanderbilt ESPNU 27,000
11/4 Tennessee vs North Carolina State ESPN2 161,000
11/4 Louisville vs UConn ESPN 448,000
11/9 USC vs North Carolina State ESPN 238,000
11/9 FSU vs UConn FS1 166,000
11/10 Oklahoma-UCLA FS1 122,000
11/11 Clemson-South Carolina ESPN2 194,000
11/12 Loyola Chicago-UConn truTV 134,000
11/12 Creighton-Nebraska FS1 197,000
11/13 South Florida-Fairfield ESPNU 28,000
11/13 Drake-Iowa BTN 146,000
11/13 UNC-UCLA ESPN2 262,000
11/14 Duke-West Virginia ESPNU 28,000
11/15 Notre Dame-Michigan NBC ???
11/15 South Carolina-USC FOX 649,000*
11/16 TCU-North Carolina State ESPN 152,000
11/16 North Dakota State-Nebraska BTN 74,000
11/16 Louisville-Clemson ESPN2 58,000
11/17 LSU-Tulane ESPNU 28,000
11/20 Davidson-Miami ESPNU 33,000
11/20 Duke-South Florida ESPNU 38,000
11/20 Iowa-Baylor ESPN2 259,000
11/21 Syracuse-Utah FS2 15,000
11/21 USC-Notre Dame ESPN 484,000
11/21 Michigan-UConn FOX 967,000*
11/22 Kentucky-Louisville CW
11/23 Syracuse-Michigan FS1 60,000
11/23 Miami (OH)-Purdue BTN 25,000
11/23 UConn-Utah FS1 124,000
11/23 George Mason-Maryland BTN 21,000
11/26 Texas-UCLA truTV 103,000
11/26 Duke-South Carolina truTV 175,000
11/27 Texas-South Carolina truTV 195,000
11/27 Duke-UCLA truTV 72,000
11/28 Abilene Christian-Northwestern ION
11/28 Missouri-Bradley ION
11/28 Butler-Dayton ION
11/28 Georgia-Kansas ION
11/29 Abilene Christian-Bradley ION
11/29 Northwestern-Missouri ION
11/29 Butler-Georgia ION
11/29 Kansas-Dayton ION
11/30 Fairfield-Iowa BTN 150,000
11/30 UConn-Xavier FS1 212,000
11/30 Saint Peter's-Rutgers BTN 19,000
11/30 Tennessee-UCLA FS1 147,000
12/2 UConn-South Florida ESPN2 239,000
12/3 Kentucky-Miami ESPN2 80,000
12/3 Georgia-Florida State ESPNU 7,000
12/3 North Carolina State-Oklahoma ESPN2 193,000
12/3 Tennessee-Stanford ESPN2 194,000
12/4 Florida-Virginia Tech ESPN2 132,000
12/4 South Carolina-Louisville ESPN 509,000
12/4 North Carolina-Texas ESPN2 204,000
12/4 Clemson-Alabama ESPNU 5,000
12/4 LSU-Duke ESPN 436,000
12/4 Notre Dame-Ole Miss ESPN2 167,000
12/6 Indiana-Illinois BTN 28,000
12/6 Iowa-Rutgers FS1 300,000
12/7 Purdue-Michigan BTN 20,000
12/7 DePaul-UConn FS1 115,000
12/7 Ohio State-Northwestern BTN 20,000
12/7 Oregon-UCLA FS1 76,000
12/7 Maryland-Minnesota BTN 78,000
12/7 Michigan State-Wisconsin BTN 68,000
12/7 Washington-USC BTN 99,000
12/9 Arizona State-Penn State BTN 26,000
12/10 Iowa-Iowa State ESPN 854,000
12/13 Oklahoma-Oklahoma State ESPNU 91,000
12/13 UConn-USC FOX
12/13 Louisiana Tech-LSU ESPNU 39,000
12/14 Baylor-Texas ABC
12/14 Penn State-South Carolina ESPN 158,000
12/14 Kansas State-Creighton FS1 14,000
12/14 Michigan State-DePaul FS1 25,000

Looking further at your list, I wonder if your source is adjusting announced figures down to try to account for the recent changes with "Big Data + Panel" that yield higher viewership numbers than past years. Or perhaps the media reports that I see are preliminary figures, later adjusted down and reported elsewhere on a site unknown to me. Would be curious if you have any insight about sources and adjustments.

I follow some of the ratings listings, paying attention to Big Ten games, and several on your list immediately jump out as too low. For example, Programming Insider reports Creighton-Nebraska as 204,000, not 197,000, and Iowa-Baylor as 274,000, not 259,000, and UNC-UCLA as 333,000, not 262,000. Sports Media Watch also reports the 1,000,000 figure for Iowa State-Iowa, not 854,000.

 

[visitingcock]

Looking further at your list, I wonder if your source is adjusting announced figures down to try to account for the recent changes with "Big Data + Panel" that yield higher viewership numbers than past years. Or perhaps the media reports that I see are preliminary figures, later adjusted down and reported elsewhere on a site unknown to me. Would be curious if you have any insight about sources and adjustments.

I follow some of the ratings listings, paying attention to Big Ten games, and several on your list immediately jump out as too low. For example, Programming Insider reports Creighton-Nebraska as 204,000, not 197,000, and Iowa-Baylor as 274,000, not 259,000, and UNC-UCLA as 333,000, not 262,000. Sports Media Watch also reports the 1,000,000 figure for Iowa State-Iowa, not 854,000.

I have no clue. I'm just reporting numbers to me by a friend who has been doing so for a few years, Here is what he said:

"I realized that I have not been sending these to you. Anything blank is something where numbers exists somewhere, but I have not found them in public anywhere. Most of the numbers are fairly directly comparable to previous seasons, but anything marked with * is using a different sampling method and the number should be higher than it would be under the more vetted measure."

 

[BigTenGuy]

I have no clue. I'm just reporting numbers to me by a friend who has been doing so for a few years, Here is what he said:

"I realized that I have not been sending these to you. Anything blank is something where numbers exists somewhere, but I have not found them in public anywhere. Most of the numbers are fairly directly comparable to previous seasons, but anything marked with * is using a different sampling method and the number should be higher than it would be under the more vetted measure."

Thank you, and I do appreciate you providing the numbers from your friend.

 

[BigTenGuy]

While on the topic of TV ratings, saw this today, but no details:

Nielsen Top 10 Most Watched Women's College Basketball Teams 2025-26 through 12/22/25

Iowa
Iowa State
UConn
Notre Dame
Louisville
USC
UCLA
South Carolina
North Carolina
Baylor


"Around two months in the college basketball season, Michigan State is the most-watched men’s team on national TV, while Iowa -- two years after Caitlin Clark left -- is tops among women. That ranking is based on Nielsen-measured national TV networks like ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, ION, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FS1, BTN, FS2, TNT, truTV and USA."

Michigan State men, Iowa women top early college basketball viewership

Around two months in the college basketball season, Michigan State is the most-watched men’s team on national TV, while Iowa is tops among women.

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

 

[visitingcock]

12/29 Michigan-Oregon FS1 98,000
12/31 Ohio State-Purdue BTN 27,000
1/1 Michigan State-Indiana BTN 34,000
1/1 Nebraska-Iowa BTN 261,000
1/1 Maryland-Illinois BTN 62,000
1/1 Michigan-Washington BTN 107,000
1/3 Seton Hall-UConn FS1 190,000
1/4 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 45,000
1/4 Stanford-UNC ESPN 235,000
1/4 Rutgers-Ohio State BTN 19,000
1/4 Cal-North Carolina State CW 142,000*
1/4 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 56,000
1/4 Baylor-Iowa State ESPN 265,000
1/4 Penn State-Wisconsin BTN 17,000
1/4 LSU-Vanderbilt ESPN 317,000
1/4 Indiana-Maryland BTN 29,000

1/5 Minnesota-Michigan BTN 83,000
1/5 Iowa-Northwestern BTN 195,000
1/6 Oregon-USC BTN 50,000
1/7 St. John's-UConn truTV 178,000
1/8 Creighton-Marquette truTV 12,000
1/11 UNC-Notre Dame ESPN 371,000
1/11 Villanova-Providence truTV 10,000
1/11 Louisiana Tech-Liberty ESPNU 15,000
1/11 UConn-Creighton truTV 113,000
1/11 Pitt-Louisville CW
1/11 Saint Louis-Loyola Chicago USA 12,000
1/11 Texas-LSU ESPN 450,000
1/11 Illinois-Penn State BTN 27,000
1/11 Duke-Stanford ESPN 158,000
1/11 Iowa-Indiana BTN 153,000
1/11 UCLA-Nebraska BTN 116,000

 

[BigTenGuy]

12/29 Michigan-Oregon FS1 98,000
12/31 Ohio State-Purdue BTN 27,000
1/1 Michigan State-Indiana BTN 34,000
1/1 Nebraska-Iowa BTN 261,000
1/1 Maryland-Illinois BTN 62,000
1/1 Michigan-Washington BTN 107,000
1/3 Seton Hall-UConn FS1 190,000
1/4 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 45,000
1/4 Stanford-UNC ESPN 235,000
1/4 Rutgers-Ohio State BTN 19,000
1/4 Cal-North Carolina State CW 142,000*
1/4 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 56,000
1/4 Baylor-Iowa State ESPN 265,000
1/4 Penn State-Wisconsin BTN 17,000
1/4 LSU-Vanderbilt ESPN 317,000
1/4 Indiana-Maryland BTN 29,000

1/5 Minnesota-Michigan BTN 83,000
1/5 Iowa-Northwestern BTN 195,000
1/6 Oregon-USC BTN 50,000
1/7 St. John's-UConn truTV 178,000
1/8 Creighton-Marquette truTV 12,000
1/11 UNC-Notre Dame ESPN 371,000
1/11 Villanova-Providence truTV 10,000
1/11 Louisiana Tech-Liberty ESPNU 15,000
1/11 UConn-Creighton truTV 113,000
1/11 Pitt-Louisville CW
1/11 Saint Louis-Loyola Chicago USA 12,000
1/11 Texas-LSU ESPN 450,000
1/11 Illinois-Penn State BTN 27,000
1/11 Duke-Stanford ESPN 158,000
1/11 Iowa-Indiana BTN 153,000
1/11 UCLA-Nebraska BTN 116,000

I appreciate you providing this information, which is getting harder to find. It seems like ESPN, Fox, Sports Media Watch etc. are releasing and posting far less WBB viewership information this season. Don't know what to make of that, but perhaps signals a downward viewership year compared to recent years. Perhaps not. Hard to know. February and March, and even late January are higher viewership periods for WBB, so remains to be seen.

From a Big Ten perspective, I am always surprised that flagship programs like Maryland and Ohio State have precious few devoted viewers. On the Big Ten network, Maryland is averaging 47,500 viewers in 4 appearances this season, and Ohio State is averaging 22,000 viewers in 3 appearances this season. I recognize some of their BTN games are less than stellar matchups. Still, these are pretty pathetic numbers. Not exactly growing the game.

 

[GamecockFam]

I appreciate you providing this information, which is getting harder to find. It seems like ESPN, Fox, Sports Media Watch etc. are releasing and posting far less WBB viewership information this season. Don't know what to make of that, but perhaps signals a downward viewership year compared to recent years. Perhaps not. Hard to know. February and March, and even late January are higher viewership periods for WBB, so remains to be seen.

From a Big Ten perspective, I am always surprised that flagship programs like Maryland and Ohio State have precious few devoted viewers. On the Big Ten network, Maryland is averaging 47,500 viewers in 4 appearances this season, and Ohio State is averaging 22,000 viewers in 3 appearances this season. I recognize some of their BTN games are less than stellar matchups. Still, these are pretty pathetic numbers. Not exactly growing the game.

This year has felt less exciting than prior ones. Less premiere matchups, not many established superstars coming into the season, etc. It kind of feels like a building/transitional season for most teams not named UConn or UCLA. The narrative just isn't as strong this season, so I think there are not as many people in the margins that are checking it out.

 

[visitingcock]

I appreciate you providing this information, which is getting harder to find. It seems like ESPN, Fox, Sports Media Watch etc. are releasing and posting far less WBB viewership information this season. Don't know what to make of that, but perhaps signals a downward viewership year compared to recent years. Perhaps not. Hard to know. February and March, and even late January are higher viewership periods for WBB, so remains to be seen.

From a Big Ten perspective, I am always surprised that flagship programs like Maryland and Ohio State have precious few devoted viewers. On the Big Ten network, Maryland is averaging 47,500 viewers in 4 appearances this season, and Ohio State is averaging 22,000 viewers in 3 appearances this season. I recognize some of their BTN games are less than stellar matchups. Still, these are pretty pathetic numbers. Not exactly growing the game.

Here is a link to last seasons thread: 2024/25 Wbb TV Eyeballs

 

[visitingcock]

7 Vanderbilt-Memphis ESPNU 26,000
11/3 Duke vs Baylor ESPN 213,000
11/3 Cal vs Vanderbilt ESPNU 27,000
11/4 Tennessee vs North Carolina State ESPN2 161,000
11/4 Louisville vs UConn ESPN 448,000
11/9 USC vs North Carolina State ESPN 238,000
11/9 FSU vs UConn FS1 166,000
11/10 Oklahoma-UCLA FS1 122,000
11/11 Clemson-South Carolina ESPN2 194,000
11/12 Loyola Chicago-UConn truTV 134,000
11/12 Creighton-Nebraska FS1 197,000
11/13 South Florida-Fairfield ESPNU 28,000
11/13 Drake-Iowa BTN 146,000
11/13 UNC-UCLA ESPN2 262,000
11/14 Duke-West Virginia ESPNU 28,000
11/15 Notre Dame-Michigan NBC ???
11/15 South Carolina-USC FOX 649,000*
11/16 TCU-North Carolina State ESPN 152,000
11/16 North Dakota State-Nebraska BTN 74,000
11/16 Louisville-Clemson ESPN2 58,000
11/17 LSU-Tulane ESPNU 28,000
11/20 Davidson-Miami ESPNU 33,000
11/20 Duke-South Florida ESPNU 38,000
11/20 Iowa-Baylor ESPN2 259,000
11/21 Syracuse-Utah FS2 15,000
11/21 USC-Notre Dame ESPN 484,000
11/21 Michigan-UConn FOX 967,000*
11/22 Kentucky-Louisville CW
11/23 Syracuse-Michigan FS1 60,000
11/23 Miami (OH)-Purdue BTN 25,000
11/23 UConn-Utah FS1 124,000
11/23 George Mason-Maryland BTN 21,000
11/26 Texas-UCLA truTV 103,000
11/26 Duke-South Carolina truTV 175,000
11/27 Texas-South Carolina truTV 195,000
11/27 Duke-UCLA truTV 72,000
11/28 Abilene Christian-Northwestern ION
11/28 Missouri-Bradley ION
11/28 Butler-Dayton ION
11/28 Georgia-Kansas ION
11/29 Abilene Christian-Bradley ION
11/29 Northwestern-Missouri ION
11/29 Butler-Georgia ION
11/29 Kansas-Dayton ION
11/30 Fairfield-Iowa BTN 150,000
11/30 UConn-Xavier FS1 212,000
11/30 Saint Peter's-Rutgers BTN 19,000
11/30 Tennessee-UCLA FS1 147,000
12/2 UConn-South Florida ESPN2 239,000
12/3 Kentucky-Miami ESPN2 80,000
12/3 Georgia-Florida State ESPNU 7,000
12/3 North Carolina State-Oklahoma ESPN2 193,000
12/3 Tennessee-Stanford ESPN2 194,000
12/4 Florida-Virginia Tech ESPN2 132,000
12/4 South Carolina-Louisville ESPN 509,000
12/4 North Carolina-Texas ESPN2 204,000
12/4 Clemson-Alabama ESPNU 5,000
12/4 LSU-Duke ESPN 436,000
12/4 Notre Dame-Ole Miss ESPN2 167,000
12/6 Indiana-Illinois BTN 28,000
12/6 Iowa-Rutgers FS1 300,000
12/7 Purdue-Michigan BTN 20,000
12/7 DePaul-UConn FS1 115,000
12/7 Ohio State-Northwestern BTN 20,000
12/7 Oregon-UCLA FS1 76,000
12/7 Maryland-Minnesota BTN 78,000
12/7 Michigan State-Wisconsin BTN 68,000
12/7 Washington-USC BTN 99,000
12/9 Arizona State-Penn State BTN 26,000
12/10 Iowa-Iowa State ESPN 854,000
12/13 Oklahoma-Oklahoma State ESPNU 91,000
12/13 UConn-USC FOX
12/13 Louisiana Tech-LSU ESPNU 39,000
12/14 Baylor-Texas ABC
12/14 Penn State-South Carolina ESPN 158,000
12/14 Kansas State-Creighton FS1 14,000
12/14 Michigan State-DePaul FS1 25,000
12/29 Michigan-Oregon FS1 98,000
12/31 Ohio State-Purdue BTN 27,000
1/1 Michigan State-Indiana BTN 34,000
1/1 Nebraska-Iowa BTN 261,000
1/1 Maryland-Illinois BTN 62,000
1/1 Michigan-Washington BTN 107,000
1/3 Seton Hall-UConn FS1 190,000
1/4 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 45,000
1/4 Stanford-UNC ESPN 235,000
1/4 Rutgers-Ohio State BTN 19,000
1/4 Cal-North Carolina State CW 142,000*
1/4 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 56,000
1/4 Baylor-Iowa State ESPN 265,000
1/4 Penn State-Wisconsin BTN 17,000
1/4 LSU-Vanderbilt ESPN 317,000
1/4 Indiana-Maryland BTN 29,000
1/5 Minnesota-Michigan BTN 83,000
1/5 Iowa-Northwestern BTN 195,000
1/6 Oregon-USC BTN 50,000
1/7 St. John's-UConn truTV 178,000
1/8 Creighton-Marquette truTV 12,000
1/11 UNC-Notre Dame ESPN 371,000
1/11 Villanova-Providence truTV 10,000
1/11 Louisiana Tech-Liberty ESPNU 15,000
1/11 UConn-Creighton truTV 113,000
1/11 Pitt-Louisville CW
1/11 Saint Louis-Loyola Chicago USA 12,000
1/11 Texas-LSU ESPN 450,000
1/11 Illinois-Penn State BTN 27,000
1/11 Duke-Stanford ESPN 158,000
1/11 Iowa-Indiana BTN 153,000
1/11 UCLA-Nebraska BTN 116,000
1/15 Villanova-UConn FS1 173,000
1/15 Texas-South Carolina ESPN2 521,000
1/15 Nebraska-Michigan State BTN 114,000
1/15 Oregon-Iowa FS1 234,000
1/17 Grand Canyon-New Mexico FS1
1/18 Duquesne-Rhode Island USA 88,000
1/18 Louisville-North Carolina State ESPN2 192,000
1/18 Iowa State-Oklahoma State FOX 677,000*
1/18 UNC-Florida State CW
1/18 LSU-Oklahoma ESPN2 192,000
1/18 Maryland-UCLA NBC ??????????????
1/18 Oregon-Wisconsin BTN 44,000
1/18 Minnesota-Washington BTN 91,000
1/18 Michigan State-Iowa BTN 200,000
1/19 Ohio State-TCU FOX ???????????????
1/19 Michigan-Vanderbilt FOX ???????????????????
1/19 Notre Dame-UConn FOX????????????????????
1/22 Michigan-Rutgers BTN 21,000
1/22 UConn-Georgetown TNT + truTV 214,000
1/22 South Carolina-Oklahoma ESPN 658,000
1/22 USC-Michigan State BTN 78,000
1/24 Illinois-Nebraska BTN
1/24 Villanova-St. John's FS1
1/24 Arizona-Iowa State FS1
1/25 Indiana-Purdue BTN 56,000
1/25 Kansas State-Kansas FS1 53,000
1/25 USC-Michigan BTN 48,000
1/25 Vanderbilt-South Carolina ESPN 461,000
1/25 UCLA-Northwestern BTN 33,000
1/29 Stonehill-Fairleigh Dickinson ESPNU 3,000
1/29 Kansas-TCU ESPN 302,000

1/29 Michigan State-Purdue BTN 19,000
1/29 Quinnipiac-Fairfield ESPNU 13,000
1/29 Louisville-Stanford ESPN 304,000
1/29 Wisconsin-Ohio State BTN 50,000
1/30 Columbia-Princeton ESPNU 44,000
1/31 LIU-Central Connecticut State ESPNU 7,000
1/31 Colorado State-UNLV FS1 35,000
1/31 Oregon-Maryland BTN 58,000
2/1 Tennessee-UConn FOX 1,213,000*
2/1 Michigan-Michigan State FS1 127,000
2/1 Richmond-VCU ESPNU 8,000
2/1 Baylor-West Virginia ESPN 357,000
2/1 TCU-Texas Tech FS1 202,000
2/1 George Washington-Dayton USA 39,000
2/1 Louisville-Cal CW
2/1 Oklahoma-Texas ABC 1,102,000*
2/1 Creighton-Seton Hall truTV 31,000
2/1 Notre Dame-Stanford CW
2/1 Iowa-UCLA FOX 927,000*
2/1 Marquette-Georgetown truTV 13,000
2/1 Nebraska-Ohio State BTN 225,000
2/1 Illinois-Washington FS1 255,000
2/2 UNC-North Carolina State ESPN2 255,000
2/2 South Carolina-Texas A&M ESPN2 369,000
2/4 UConn-DePaul truTV 137,000
2/5 Duke-Louisville ESPN 441,000
2/5 Minnesota-Iowa BTN 235,000
2/5 LSU-Texas ESPN 681,000
2/5 USC-Northwestern BTN 40,000
2/7 Butler-UConn FS1 210,000
2/7 Maryland-Nebraska BTN 140,000
2/7 Arizona State-Baylor FS1 86,000
2/8 Louisville-Syracuse CW
2/8 Marquette-Creighton FS1 40,000
2/8 SMU-Duke CW
2/8 UCLA-Michigan FOX ?????????????????????/
2/8 Tennessee at SCar ESPN 1,480,000

 

[visitingcock]

Going to be interesting to see the ratings for todays network wbb games (FOX and ABC) scheduled to conflict with the 3:30 start of the Super Bowl.

FOX 3:00 UCLA at Michigan
ABC 3:00 Tennessee at South Carolina

I will post the last two weeks of TV ratings from @awhom111 tomorrow - Not including todays games. Some big number the last two weeks including two games over a million and one game pushing that number.

Enjoy your TV sports day.

 

[cancontent]

Going to be interesting to see the ratings for todays network wbb games (FOX and ABC) scheduled to conflict with the 3:30 start of the Super Bowl.

FOX 3:00 UCLA at Michigan
ABC 3:00 Tennessee at South Carolina

I will post the last two weeks of TV ratings from @awhom111 tomorrow - Not including todays games. Some big number the last two weeks including two games over a million and one game pushing that number.

Enjoy your TV sports day.

Was just thinking the same. Looking forward to the next post with last week's numbers.

 

[BigTenGuy]

Recent Nielsen methodology changes make it difficult to compare this year's viewership numbers to previous years. Starting last February, Nielsen extended its out-of-home measurement to 100% of the country, up from 66%. That gave last year's Super Bowl a material bump in viewership numbers.

More recently, starting in September 2025, Nielsen began to measure viewership with a new methodology, “Big Data + Panel,” which combines the traditional Nielsen Panel estimates with viewership data from smart TVs and set-top boxes in more than 45 million U.S. homes. It's hard to get an accurate picture of how big a bump Big Data delivers to viewership numbers, but depending on the sport, game, network and time, it can be a lot.

I have found 19 WBB games this season primarily reported by TV Media Blog and sometimes in other places where both the Nielsen Panel and the Nielsen Big Data + Panel numbers have been reported (I found 2 other games with inconsistent numbers across media sites, so didn't include them in the chart below). The Big Data increases are substantial, but not uniform. The stories and tweets put out to date by the networks all use the Big Data numbers, e.g. ESPN crowing about Iowa-Iowa State viewership, without providing any context to the reported numbers or increases. All of the traditional network numbers reported to date by Fox (e.g. UConn-Tenn) and ABC report only Big Data numbers, so it is hard to get a sense of how inflated the numbers are simply due to changes in measurement methodologies.

Date	Team 1	Team 2	Network	Nielsen Panel	Nielsen Big Data	Big Data >
Jan. 1	Michigan	Washington	BTN	107,000	118,000	10.3%
Jan. 5	Iowa	Northwestern	BTN	195,000	214,000	9.7%
Feb. 1	Nebraska	Ohio State	BTN	225,000	253,000	12.4%
4-Dec	LSU	Duke	ESPN	436,000	549,000	25.9%
4-Dec	S. Carolina	Louisville	ESPN	509,000	596,000	17.1%
Jan. 22	S. Carolina	Oklahoma	ESPN	658,000	777,000	18.1%
Dec. 10	Iowa	Iowa St	ESPN	854,000	1,034,000	21.1%
Jan. 29	Louisville	Stanford	ESPN	304,000	453,000	49.0%
Jan. 29	Kansas	TCU	ESPN	302,000	406,000	34.4%
Dec. 4	Notre Dame	Ole Miss	ESPN2	167,000	212,000	26.9%
Dec. 3	NC State	Oklahoma	ESPN2	193,000	211,000	9.3%
Dec. 3	Tennessee	Stanford	ESPN2	194,000	240,000	23.7%
Dec. 4	UNC	Texas	ESPN2	204,000	251,000	23.0%
Nov. 20	Iowa	Baylor	ESPN2	259,000	274,000	5.8%
Nov. 13	UCLA	UNC	ESPN2	262,000	333,000	27.1%
Jan. 15	Texas	S. Carolina	ESPN2	521,000	600,000	15.2%
Jan. 15	Villanova	UConn	FS1	173,000	206,000	19.1%
Nov. 12	Creighton	Nebraska	FS1	197,000	204,000	3.6%
Feb. 1	Illinois	Washington	FS1	255,000	326,000	27.8%

 

[visitingcock]

Recent Nielsen methodology changes make it difficult to compare this year's viewership numbers to previous years. Starting last February, Nielsen extended its out-of-home measurement to 100% of the country, up from 66%. That gave last year's Super Bowl a material bump in viewership numbers.

More recently, starting in September 2025, Nielsen began to measure viewership with a new methodology, “Big Data + Panel,” which combines the traditional Nielsen Panel estimates with viewership data from smart TVs and set-top boxes in more than 45 million U.S. homes. It's hard to get an accurate picture of how big a bump Big Data delivers to viewership numbers, but depending on the sport, game, network and time, it can be a lot.

I have found 19 WBB games this season primarily reported by TV Media Blog and sometimes in other places where both the Nielsen Panel and the Nielsen Big Data + Panel numbers have been reported (I found 2 other games with inconsistent numbers across media sites, so didn't include them in the chart below). The Big Data increases are substantial, but not uniform. The stories and tweets put out to date by the networks all use the Big Data numbers, e.g. ESPN crowing about Iowa-Iowa State viewership, without providing any context to the reported numbers or increases. All of the traditional network numbers reported to date by Fox (e.g. UConn-Tenn) and ABC report only Big Data numbers, so it is hard to get a sense of how inflated the numbers are simply due to changes in measurement methodologies.

Date	Team 1	Team 2	Network	Nielsen Panel	Nielsen Big Data	Big Data >
Jan. 1	Michigan	Washington	BTN	107,000	118,000	10.3%
Jan. 5	Iowa	Northwestern	BTN	195,000	214,000	9.7%
Feb. 1	Nebraska	Ohio State	BTN	225,000	253,000	12.4%
4-Dec	LSU	Duke	ESPN	436,000	549,000	25.9%
4-Dec	S. Carolina	Louisville	ESPN	509,000	596,000	17.1%
Jan. 22	S. Carolina	Oklahoma	ESPN	658,000	777,000	18.1%
Dec. 10	Iowa	Iowa St	ESPN	854,000	1,034,000	21.1%
Jan. 29	Louisville	Stanford	ESPN	304,000	453,000	49.0%
Jan. 29	Kansas	TCU	ESPN	302,000	406,000	34.4%
Dec. 4	Notre Dame	Ole Miss	ESPN2	167,000	212,000	26.9%
Dec. 3	NC State	Oklahoma	ESPN2	193,000	211,000	9.3%
Dec. 3	Tennessee	Stanford	ESPN2	194,000	240,000	23.7%
Dec. 4	UNC	Texas	ESPN2	204,000	251,000	23.0%
Nov. 20	Iowa	Baylor	ESPN2	259,000	274,000	5.8%
Nov. 13	UCLA	UNC	ESPN2	262,000	333,000	27.1%
Jan. 15	Texas	S. Carolina	ESPN2	521,000	600,000	15.2%
Jan. 15	Villanova	UConn	FS1	173,000	206,000	19.1%
Nov. 12	Creighton	Nebraska	FS1	197,000	204,000	3.6%
Feb. 1	Illinois	Washington	FS1	255,000	326,000	27.8%

Outstanding post!

 

[visitingcock]

I’m way behind on updating this thread. I’ll try to catch up later today but I’ll just drop this for now



I wonder if that should only say that viewership is up on ESPN channels by 33% ? Is it up that much across all TV platforms?

I wonder if Vandy/Blakes can start burning up the ratings close to what Iowa/Clark did.

 

[GamecockFam]

I’m way behind on updating this thread. I’ll try to catch up later today but I’ll just drop this for now



I wonder if that should only say that viewership is up on ESPN channels by 33% ? Is it up that much across all TV platforms?

I wonder if Vandy/Blakes can start burning up the ratings close to what Iowa/Clark did.

I've been having similar thoughts about Blakes. I think she and Vandy have potential to follow the Clark/Iowa trajectory in popularity. IMO it'll take a signature win in the post season (like Iowa beating South Carolina in the final four), for them to get that Iowa-like hype going into next season.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I wonder if Vandy/Blakes can start burning up the ratings close to what Iowa/Clark did.

NO, that's not going to happen.

 

[BigTenGuy]

I’m way behind on updating this thread. I’ll try to catch up later today but I’ll just drop this for now



I wonder if that should only say that viewership is up on ESPN channels by 33% ? Is it up that much across all TV platforms?

I repeat myself, but it's highly likely that most, but not all, of the reported increase in viewership is simply due to changes in viewership methodologies. There are 17 WBB games this year on ESPN/ESPN2 where TV Media Blog reports both the Nielsen Panel viewership number and the Panel + Big Data viewership number. Big Data went into use on September 1, 2025. ESPN PR uses the Big Data numbers. The BIG Data viewership numbers for those 17 games on ESPN/ESPN2 are 21% higher, in aggregate, than the Panel viewership numbers, which are already inflated versus last year's Panel numbers for pre-February games. (Nielsen increased its measurement of out-of-home viewing on February 1, 2025).

The new methodologies are ultimately good things because they more accurately measure actual TV viewership, but they highlight that the viewership numbers of recent previous years were undercounted. S. Carolina-Iowa was actually probably north of 20 million in terms of TV viewership.

 

[LETTERL]

1/18 Louisville-North Carolina State ESPN2 192,000

2/2 UNC-North Carolina State ESPN2 255,000

I say "Balderdash!". I think both of these values are low. I can't believe less than 300,000 people tuned in for a big rivalry game in that area, not to mention nationwide fans of WCBB in general.

 

[visitingcock]

The Seasons Big Ones

I say "Balderdash!". I think both of these values are low. I can't believe less than 300,000 people tuned in for a big rivalry game in that area, not to mention nationwide fans of WCBB in general.

ESPN2 doesn't draw like ESPN, doesn't draw like ABC/FOX but you could be right.

 

[visitingcock]

Some Highlighted games this season

11/3 Duke vs Baylor ESPN 213,000
11/4 Louisville vs UConn ESPN 448,000
11/9 USC vs North Carolina State ESPN 238,000
11/11 Clemson-South Carolina ESPN2 194,000
11/12 Creighton-Nebraska FS1 197,000
11/13 UNC-UCLA ESPN2 262,000
11/15 Notre Dame-Michigan NBC ??????????????????/
11/15 South Carolina-USC FOX 649,000*
11/20 Iowa-Baylor ESPN2 259,000
11/21 USC-Notre Dame ESPN 484,000
11/21 Michigan-UConn FOX 967,000*****************************
11/27 Texas-South Carolina truTV 195,000
11/30 UConn-Xavier FS1 212,000
12/2 UConn-South Florida ESPN2 239,000
12/3 North Carolina State-Oklahoma ESPN2 193,000
12/3 Tennessee-Stanford ESPN2 194,000
12/4 South Carolina-Louisville ESPN 509,000
12/4 North Carolina-Texas ESPN2 204,000
12/4 LSU-Duke ESPN 436,000
12/6 Iowa-Rutgers FS1 300,000
12/10 Iowa-Iowa State ESPN 854,000
1/1 Nebraska-Iowa BTN 261,000
1/3 Seton Hall-UConn FS1 190,00
1/4 Stanford-UNC ESPN 235,000
1/4 Baylor-Iowa State ESPN 265,000
1/4 LSU-Vanderbilt ESPN 317,000
1/5 Iowa-Northwestern BTN 195,000
1/7 St. John's-UConn truTV 178,000
1/11 UNC-Notre Dame ESPN 371,000
1/11 Texas-LSU ESPN 450,000
1/15 Texas-South Carolina ESPN2 521,000
1/15 Oregon-Iowa FS1 234,000
1/18 Louisville-North Carolina State ESPN2 192,000
1/18 Iowa State-Oklahoma State FOX 677,000*
1/18 LSU-Oklahoma ESPN2 192,000
1/18 Maryland-UCLA NBC ??????????????
1/18 Michigan State-Iowa BTN 200,000
1/19 Ohio State-TCU FOX ???????????????
1/19 Michigan-Vanderbilt FOX ???????????????????
1/19 Notre Dame-UConn FOX????????????????????
1/22 UConn-Georgetown TNT + truTV 214,000
1/22 South Carolina-Oklahoma ESPN 658,000
1/25 Vanderbilt-South Carolina ESPN 461,000
1/29 Kansas-TCU ESPN 302,000
1/29 Louisville-Stanford ESPN 304,000
2/1 Tennessee-UConn FOX 1,213,000******************
2/1 Baylor-West Virginia ESPN 357,000
2/1 TCU-Texas Tech FS1 202,000
2/1 Oklahoma-Texas ABC 1,102,000********************
2/1 Notre Dame-Stanford CW ??????????????????????
2/1 Iowa-UCLA FOX 927,000*
2/1 Nebraska-Ohio State BTN 225,000
2/1 Illinois-Washington FS1 255,000
2/2 UNC-North Carolina State ESPN2 255,000
2/2 South Carolina-Texas A&M ESPN2 369,000
2/5 Duke-Louisville ESPN 441,000
2/5 Minnesota-Iowa BTN 235,000
2/5 LSU-Texas ESPN 681,000
2/7 Butler-UConn FS1 210,000
2/8 UCLA-Michigan FOX ?????????????????????/
2/8 Tennessee at SCar ESPN 1,480,000*****************

 

[visitingcock]

 

[visitingcock]

Update:

2/9 Oklahoma-Vanderbilt ESPN2 137,000
2/10 North Texas-Rice ESPNU 17,000
2/12 TCU-Baylor ESPN 314,000
2/12 Nebraska-Minnesota BTN 93,000
2/12 Indiana-USC BTN 36,000
2/13 Princeton-Columbia ESPNU 33,000
2/14 UConn-Marquette FS1 301,000
2/14 Tennessee Tech-Southern Indiana ESPNU 23,000
2/14 South Carolina-LSU ABC 1,748,000*
Preceded by Gameday 1.1 million
2/15 UNC-Duke ABC ??????????????????????????????????
2/15 Maryland-Ohio State FS1 103,000
2/15 Kansas State-Iowa State ESPN 335,000
2/15 Virginia-Stanford CW 109,000*
2/15 Texas-Tennessee ABC 919,000*
2/15 Michigan State-Michigan FS1 100,000
2/15 Northwestern-Penn State BTN 8,000
2/15 North Carolina State-Notre Dame ESPN 211,000
2/15 Villanova-Creighton truTV 35,000
2/15 Minnesota-Wisconsin BTN 47,000
2/15 West Virginia-TCU FS1 130,000
2/15 Oregon-Washington BTN 55,000

2/16 Iowa-Nebraska FOX???????????????
2/16 Utah-Oklahoma State FOX?????????
2/17 Tennessee-Ole Miss ESPNU 64,000
2/17 Rutgers-Illinois BTN 20,000
2/19 North Carolina State-Duke ESPN 366,000
2/19 LSU-Ole Miss ESPN 457,000
2/19 Washington-UCLA BTN 37,000
2/21 Penn State-Rutgers BTN 46,000
2/22 Ole Miss-South Carolina ESPN 555,000
2/22 Providence-UConn FS1 205,000
2/22 Michigan-Iowa FOX?????????????????/
2/22 Virginia-Louisville CW
2/22 Oregon-Indiana BTN 24,000
2/22 USC-Ohio State FS1 123,000
2/22 Tennessee-Oklahoma ESPN 478,000
2/22 Duke-Clemson ESPN2 131,000
2/22 Syracuse-North Carolina State CW
2/22 Nebraska-Washington BTN 62,000
2/22 Iowa State-TCU ESPN 402,000
2/22 Kentucky-Vanderbilt ESPN2 295,000
2/22 Michigan State-Minnesota FS1 157,000

 

[triaddukefan]

 

[JstVisiting]

This would be much more useful if they split the two. It’s like top ten for NBA and WNBA! … wow seems like Las Vegas doesn’t support the Aces.

 

[BigTenGuy]

This would be much more useful if they split the two. It’s like top ten for NBA and WNBA! … wow seems like Las Vegas doesn’t support the Aces.

The Nielsen-planted stories this season seem designed to mislead or obfuscate. The top 10 WBB viewership markets would be quite different than the top 10 MBB viewership markets, but the latter mostly swallows the former when you lump them together.

Last week Nielsen told us that the 10 "most watched" WBB teams of the season include Texas A&M at # 9, with UConn not in the top 10. Nielsen never defines "most watched" or hints that somehow most watched must equal average viewership. How else to explain Texas A&M ahead of UConn? UConn has 20+ Nielsen-rated games this season across a variety of networks, with more than 6,000,000 (perhaps > 7,000,000) total viewers. Texas A&M has 1 Nielsen-rated game this season (SEC Network games are not Nielsen-rated), with 411,000 viewers, but is somehow a "most watched" team. A stupid label that spawns misleading articles.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-basketball-tv-ratings-tracking-221042642.html

 

[visitingcock]

Tournament championship week:

AMNew
3/5 USC-Washington BTN 67,000
3/5 Indiana-Ohio State BTN 75,000
3/5 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 154,000
3/5 Oregon-Maryland BTN 113,000
3/6 Clemson-Duke ESPN2 103,000
3/6 Loyola Chicago-Rhode Island USA 46,000
3/6 Washington-UCLA BTN 72,000
3/6 Kentucky-South Carolina ESPN 590,000
3/6 Kansas State-Oklahoma State ESPNU 33,000
3/6 Oklahoma-LSU ESPN 537,000
3/6 BYU-TCU ESPNU 12,000
3/6 Ohio State-Minnesota BTN 84,000
3/6 Syracuse-Louisville ESPN2 247,000
3/6 Dayton-George Mason USA 44,000
3/6 Illinois-Iowa BTN 286,000
3/6 La Salle-Richmond CNBC 21,000
3/6 Oregon-Michigan BTN 139,000
3/7 Notre Dame-Duke ESPN2 393,000
3/7 Ohio State-UCLA BTN 220,000
3/7 UNC-Louisville ESPN2 390,000
3/7 LSU-South Carolina ESPN2 936,000
3/7 Michigan-Iowa BTN 487,000
3/7 Miami Ohio-Ohio ESPNU 14,000
3/7 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 573,000
3/8 Samford-Chattanooga ESPNU 38,000
3/8 Louisville-Duke ESPN 898,000
3/8 Iowa-UCLA CBS 980,000*
3/8 Texas-South Carolina ESPN 1,256,000
3/8 George Mason-Rhode Island ESPN2 103,000
3/8 West Virginia-TCU ESPN 730,000
3/8 Radford-High Point ESPN2 149,000

 

[BigTenGuy]

The odd Nielsen "most-watched" lists that seemingly rank by average, rather than total viewers, prompted me to compile this list. Public TV viewership data (TV Media Blog, ESPN PR, and Programming Insider) is not complete, so there are some holes in the list, but those are noted. For example, UConn has 21 games with publicly-available Nielsen viewership numbers, and 3 additional Nielsen-rated games for which there is no publicly-available viewership information. ESPN+, Peacock, ACC Network, SEC Network, Big Ten+ etc. are not Nielsen-rated, so viewership from those sources is not available.

My inputs mostly agree with the numbers posted above by visitingcock, except I have used the higher viewership count when both Nielsen "panel" and Nielsen "Big Data" numbers are available. This is a material difference. For example, the panel number for the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game is 730,000, but the Big Data number is 853,000. When ESPN touts its viewership increase versus past years, it may be mostly (or all) measurement changes. There are now 16 ESPN games with both panel and Big Data counts, and the average difference (increase) with the new Big Data method is 21%. The 2026 panel number is also likely 5% inflated from 2025 panel counts due to increased out-of-home measurement.

From my Big Ten perspective, UCLA and Michigan are laggards on this list (they also have the most missing Nielsen-rated games from public sources). They (along with Iowa) were the featured Big Ten TV teams this season, but they have not attracted the viewing public. When they are not playing a team with a large TV fan base, their numbers are low. Their averages for conference games on Big Ten Network and FS1 are relatively low.

Two million in aggregate viewers was my cutoff for this list:

Team	Pre-NCAA Total TV Viewers (from public data)​	# Nielsen-Rated TV Games (w/ public data)​	Networks​	Missing Nielsen-Rated Games​
S. Carolina	11,330,000 ​	17​	2 ABC, 7 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 Fox, 2 Tru​	None​
Iowa	7,629,000 ​	18​	10 BTN, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 1 CBS, 3 Fox, 2 FS1​	2​
UConn	6,710,000 ​	21​	3 Fox, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 9 FS1, 4 Tru, 3 Tru+TNT​	3​
LSU	6,658,000 ​	12​	1 ABC, 7 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU​	None​
Texas	6,583,000 ​	11​	2 ABC, 3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 Tru​	1​
Tenn.	6,138,000 ​	11​	2 ABC, 2 Fox, 3 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1​	None​
Louisville	4,842,000 ​	12​	1 Fox, 5 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 CW​	3​
Duke	4,306,000 ​	14​	7 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU, 2 Tru​	2​
Oklahoma	3,681,000 ​	9​	1 ABC, 3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1​	None​
UCLA	3,476,000 ​	14​	1 Fox, 1 CBS, 1 ESPN2, 5 BTN, 4 FS1, 2 Tru​	4​
Michigan	2,993,000 ​	13​	2 Fox, 7 BTN, 4 FS1​	4​
TCU	2,902,000 ​	9​	6 ESPN, 2 FS1, 1 ESPNU​	1​
Iowa St.	2,852,000 ​	6​	4 ESPN, 1 Fox, 1 FS1​	2​
USC	2,495,000 ​	13​	7 BTN, 3 ESPN, 1 Fox, 2 FS1​	1​
UNC	2,331,000 ​	7​	3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2​	2​
NC St.	2,193,000 ​	10​	4 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 CW​	None​
Baylor	2,088,000 ​	8​	5 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 FS1​	1​
Ole Miss	2,065,000 ​	6​	2 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU​	None​
Notre Dame	2,030,000 ​	6​	3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2​	3​

 

[visitingcock]

The odd Nielsen "most-watched" lists that seemingly rank by average, rather than total viewers, prompted me to compile this list. Public TV viewership data (TV Media Blog, ESPN PR, and Programming Insider) is not complete, so there are some holes in the list, but those are noted. For example, UConn has 21 games with publicly-available Nielsen viewership numbers, and 3 additional Nielsen-rated games for which there is no publicly-available viewership information. ESPN+, Peacock, ACC Network, SEC Network, Big Ten+ etc. are not Nielsen-rated, so viewership from those sources is not available.

My inputs mostly agree with the numbers posted above by visitingcock, except I have used the higher viewership count when both Nielsen "panel" and Nielsen "Big Data" numbers are available. This is a material difference. For example, the panel number for the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game is 730,000, but the Big Data number is 853,000. When ESPN touts its viewership increase versus past years, it may be mostly (or all) measurement changes. There are now 16 ESPN games with both panel and Big Data counts, and the average difference (increase) with the new Big Data method is 21%. The 2026 panel number is also likely 5% inflated from 2025 panel counts due to increased out-of-home measurement.

From my Big Ten perspective, UCLA and Michigan are laggards on this list (they also have the most missing Nielsen-rated games from public sources). They (along with Iowa) were the featured Big Ten TV teams this season, but they have not attracted the viewing public. When they are not playing a team with a large TV fan base, their numbers are low. Their averages for conference games on Big Ten Network and FS1 are relatively low.

Two million in aggregate viewers was my cutoff for this list:

Team	Pre-NCAA Total TV Viewers (from public data)​	# Nielsen-Rated TV Games (w/ public data)​	Networks​	Missing Nielsen-Rated Games​
S. Carolina	11,330,000 ​	17​	2 ABC, 7 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 Fox, 2 Tru​	None​
Iowa	7,629,000 ​	18​	10 BTN, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 1 CBS, 3 Fox, 2 FS1​	2​
UConn	6,710,000 ​	21​	3 Fox, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 9 FS1, 4 Tru, 3 Tru+TNT​	3​
LSU	6,658,000 ​	12​	1 ABC, 7 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU​	None​
Texas	6,583,000 ​	11​	2 ABC, 3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 Tru​	1​
Tenn.	6,138,000 ​	11​	2 ABC, 2 Fox, 3 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1​	None​
Louisville	4,842,000 ​	12​	1 Fox, 5 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 CW​	3​
Duke	4,306,000 ​	14​	7 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU, 2 Tru​	2​
Oklahoma	3,681,000 ​	9​	1 ABC, 3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1​	None​
UCLA	3,476,000 ​	14​	1 Fox, 1 CBS, 1 ESPN2, 5 BTN, 4 FS1, 2 Tru​	4​
Michigan	2,993,000 ​	13​	2 Fox, 7 BTN, 4 FS1​	4​
TCU	2,902,000 ​	9​	6 ESPN, 2 FS1, 1 ESPNU​	1​
Iowa St.	2,852,000 ​	6​	4 ESPN, 1 Fox, 1 FS1​	2​
USC	2,495,000 ​	13​	7 BTN, 3 ESPN, 1 Fox, 2 FS1​	1​
UNC	2,331,000 ​	7​	3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2​	2​
NC St.	2,193,000 ​	10​	4 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 CW​	None​
Baylor	2,088,000 ​	8​	5 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 FS1​	1​
Ole Miss	2,065,000 ​	6​	2 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU​	None​
Notre Dame	2,030,000 ​	6​	3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2​	3​

Thank You!

I see FOX, FS1 and BTN for the Big Ten teams.

I see ABC (a few) ESPN and ESPN2 for the SEC but nothing for the SECN. Were the numbers for it and ACCN too insignificant to count?

UConn still strong despite little Network support with the Big East.

I’m surprised Vandy didn’t make the list for their five strong SEC-viewed games and Michigan.