The ratings are in for Monday’s national championship between Florida and Houston. It’s a win for CBS, as Florida vs. Houston delivered the biggest audience for the national championship game since 2019.
2025 National Championship Ratings
National Championship between Florida and Houston delivers 18.1 million viewers on CBS, capping off the most-watched Final Four weekend since 2017 pic.twitter.com/3FmBOMDGuF
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) April 8, 2025
The Florida Gators defeated the Houston Cougars 65-63 to win the national championship in a hard-fought game.
A glance at the early ratings reveals that viewers clearly loved the intense battle.
Per Nielsen’s numbers, Monday night’s game averaged 18.1 million viewers on CBS. That’s a 22% increase from 2024’s game between UConn and Purdue (14.8 million viewers) and a 23% increase from 2023’s game between UConn and San Diego State (14.7 million viewers).
Florida-Houston is the most-watched national championship since 2019, when Virginia bested Texas Tech on championship Monday.
The game peaked in the final moments, with 21.1 million viewers tuning in for the game’s final moments, which saw Florida make a key defensive stop to preserve the victory.
The game airing on CBS instead of TBS definitely helps draw higher ratings.
Also, the game tipped at 8:50 p.m. ET, 30 minutes earlier than the typical 9:20 p.m. ET start time in previous years. Expect that time change to be implemented moving forward.
Ratings Success For 2025 Final Four
Update: Per Nielsen final national data, Saturday’s Final Four viewership increases to 15.5 Million Viewers (+21%) with a peak of 20.7 Million Viewers
Florida-Auburn: 14.8 Million Viewers (+29%), now the best early game since 2015
Houston-Duke: 16.3 Million Viewers (+15%) https://t.co/IO4UVe7Pwk
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) April 8, 2025
Monday night’s game caps off a terrific Final Four that translated to good TV ratings.
Saturday’s Final Four averaged 15.5 million viewers, an increase of 21% since last year. The first matchup between Florida and Auburn is the most-watched early game in the Final Four since 2015.
Houston’s historic comeback against Duke is the most-watched game in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with an average of 16.3 million viewers.
