ESPN’s Champ Week coverage of Conference Tournaments has long been a hallmark of the network. Following another successful viewing year, it appears this will continue well into the future. Highlights included the SEC Tournament, ACC Tournament, and Big 12 Tournament, all of which contributed positively, despite not all finals surpassing last year’s viewership. On Tuesday, ESPN’s press release revealed impressive numbers for all three tournaments. Notably, the SEC Tournament final between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators reached an average viewership of 3.1 million, marking a 74% increase from last year’s matchup between Auburn and Florida.
Though the ACC Tournament Final couldn’t quite reach last year’s viewer figure of 3.24 million for NC State vs. North Carolina, the Louisville-Duke final was a close contender with 3.1 million fans tuning in. Additionally, Saturday’s Big 12 Tournament Final saw an average of 2.2 million viewers, surpassing last year’s Iowa State vs. Houston matchup by 6%, which was expected given the decisive nature of that previous game. Overall, the week’s coverage on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU grew by 21 percent compared to last year’s figures, as noted in the ESPN press release.
ESPN’s ‘25 #NCAAMBB Champ Week finished as the most-watched in 6 years!
🏀 Games on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU up 21% over ’24
🏀 #ACCMBB Champ Game | 3.1M viewers
🏀 #Big12MBB Champ Game | 2.2M viewers
🏀 #SECMBB Champ Game | 3.1M viewers pic.twitter.com/iR3V82dBtO— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 18, 2025
While CBS emerged as a standout with the Big Ten Championship Game between Michigan and Wisconsin, which attracted an average of 4.53 million viewers, the second-highest of the season, ESPN solidified its position as a leader in college basketball coverage. Moving forward, the network will shift its focus to the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament, exclusively featured on ESPN’s family of networks.
