From Caitlin Clark’s star power to South Carolina’s perfect season, this March (and part of April) truly epitomized the “madness” basketball fans love. While the NCAA Tournament had its share of thrills, it was the women's games that drew the biggest surge in viewership, particularly among TV streamers.
For the first time, the women’s championship game outdrew the men’s championship in terms of fan reach. The compelling matchup and storylines, featuring the unbeaten South Carolina Gamecocks against Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, sparked nationwide excitement. The game was watched by 11.9 million traditional TV households, surpassing the men’s final between UConn and Purdue, which had 9.1 million households.¹
In this edition of Stream of Thought, we present our analysis of Roku streaming viewership numbers for the tournament. Here are key insights from our NCAA Basketball Tournament data:
Roku’s automatic content recognition (ACR) data shows us that the Women’s Tournament viewership grew by double digits in each round.²
On Roku, the streaming reach for Women’s NCAA Tournament grew by 38%, and hours streamed increased by 61% compared to 2023. The Men’s Tournament saw no growth in reach on Roku, despite new streaming options such as Max now offering live sports.³
Excitement for the women’s game built progressively, peaking with the much-anticipated final showdown between Iowa and South Carolina. Streaming reach on Roku for the women’s final soared by 105% year-over-year, with significant increases also seen in the Final Four (up 67%) and Elite Eight (up 68%) rounds.⁴
Women’s Tournament TV viewers are 12% more likely to be Black and 15% more likely to be aged 25-49 than the average Roku streamer.⁵ Compared to Men’s Tournament viewers, the women’s audience is 10% more likely to be Black. Moreover, the women’s audience boasts a higher education level, with traditional TV viewers and streamers 15% and 23% more likely, respectively, to hold a college degree than the average traditional TV and streaming TV household, respectively. In contrast, Men’s Tournament viewers are predominantly older than the rest of Roku Traditional TV viewers, with a 14% higher likelihood of being 65 or older.⁶
Roku ACR data shows how we saw a shift towards streaming among tournament viewers. Among those who watched the Men’s Tournament in 2023 on traditional television, our ACR insights show 31% streamed a channel carrying the 2024 tournament during gameplay. Similarly, 22% of the 2023 Women’s Tournament viewers streamed live tournament games on Roku.⁷
Given the sensational popularity of the women’s games, the brands that chose to advertise on those games prior to the tournament enjoyed outsized reach when the audience exploded. Specifically, brands in the entertainment, automotive, business & legal, and electronics & communication verticals accounted for almost half of all traditional TV impressions that aired during the Women’s Tournament.
The list of specific brands that reached the most viewers during the Women’s Tournament included The Home Depot, Nissan, Buick, Corona Extra, Gatorade and AT&T wireless.⁸
With streaming becoming a go-to destination for watching sports, there are plenty of ways for advertisers to capitalize during major TV sporting events — without the need for a large budget.
Roku has multiple powerful offerings. One is NBA Zone, a dedicated hub for basketball enthusiasts to easily access live games, highlights, and more. Additionally, Roku offers NBA FAST, a free ad-supported TV channel now exclusively available on Roku, presenting advertisers with a prime opportunity to reach cord-cutting sports fans.
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¹ Roku Internal Data, 2024
² Estimates that are based on data collected from users who consented to the collection of this data
³ Roku Internal Data, 2024
⁴ Roku Internal Data, 2024
⁵ Households that watched 1+ minute of the Men's Tournament or the Women's Tournament
⁶ Roku Internal Data, 2024 | Traditional TV viewer is defined as a profile of a household that has traditional TV ACR activity of 5+ minutes over the period
⁷ Roku Internal Data, 2024
⁸ Roku Internal Data, 2024