The 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament set records across all platforms, with the final’s stats game fueled by a thrilling overtime.
Across broadcast partners TBS, CBS, TNT, and truTV, ratings increased 11 percent compared with 2018’s March Madness tournament, according to data released after Monday night’s final by CBS and Turner Sports. The national championship game between No. 1 Virginia and No. 3 Texas Tech was up 20 percent over last year’s final.
Critics were skeptical that the Virginia-Texas Tech game would have enough entertainment value to generate significant ratings boosts, pointing to each team’s strong defensive lines—both among the best in the country—that had some predicting a low-scoring game. Instead, strong ratings were buoyed by a down-to-the-wire game that went to overtime.
Texas Tech had a chance to tie the game with just a minute left in overtime. But a long instant replay review by officials after the ball went out of bounds gave possession back to Virginia. The Cavaliers scored and pulled ahead to win 85-77.
VIRGINIA = NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
(1) Virginia outlasts (3) Texas Tech 85-77 in OT to win the 2019 #NationalChampionship! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/AtUHKJwV99
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 9, 2019
According to the ratings data, viewership peaked from 11:30 to 11:45 p.m. ET, during overtime. The top five metered markets for the game were Richmond and Norfolk, both in Virginia, as well as Minneapolis, Louisville, and Kansas City in the midwest.
The tournament also set all-time tournament records in live streams (at more than 100 million) and hours consumed (more than 24 million), which were up 31 and 29 percent, respectively, compared to last year.
NCAA March Madness Live, the tournament’s streaming hub, generated a record for the championship game based on live uniques, with live streams and live hours consumed climbing 19 and seven percent, respectively, compared to 2018.
Official NCAA March Madness social accounts produced a 94 percent increase in engagements on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram compared with last year’s tournament. Videos across the three platforms generated more than 135 million views, a 74 percent year-over-year increase.