FOSTER CITY, Calif.—Sports fans saw the return of March Madness over the weekend, and one of the big early winners is the TV screen. A report from Conviva on viewing habits for the first two days of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament reveal record-setting streaming numbers, and a majority of that being done through televisions.
The first two rounds of the tournament saw more than 1 billion minutes total streamed for all 32 games. Day one saw 15% more time spent streaming than day two, but that is historically in line with past tournaments. Also, the first day of the tournament took place during a Friday with games starting around noon and hitting peaks around 3 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. ET. The second day of games took place on a Saturday and saw its streaming peak occur around 9:15 p.m. ET.
Fans were primarily choosing to stream on the big screen, per Conviva. For the first time, TV earned more than 50% of the shared March Madness viewing time, with 68% of people streaming on their TVs. That number was 41% in 2018 and 48% in 2019.
Roku proved to be the most popular of the TV streaming platforms, garnering 40% of those who streamed through the TV. Amazon Fire TV was second with 26% and then Samsung TV with 10%.
For more information, visit Conviva’s website for the full report.
