Click here to view an 11-minute video of the key findings.

Click here to download the NCAA listening study for advertisers.

Click here to download the NCAA listening study for station affiliates.

While the NFL postseason is underway, marketers are looking ahead to March Madness, a major cultural phenomenon. A series of new studies reveal while NCAA March Madness games are available both on TV and AM/FM radio, each broadcast has a very different audience profile.

The NCAA basketball TV audience consists of casual sports fans. The AM/FM radio play-by-play audience is more passionate and engaged. This distinction has a significant impact on advertising effectiveness.

Key takeaways:

• Nielsen: NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audiences surge to reach 20 million listeners

• Quantilope: Compared to NCAA March Madness TV viewers, AM/FM radio listeners are far more engaged and passionate, which means greater advertising effectiveness and impact
• MRI-Simmons: The NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audience is younger and more likely to be employed and have kids in bigger households versus the NCAA March Madness TV audience
• NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audiences deliver consumers who are more likely to be in the market across major consumer categories, according to MRI-Simmons
• One-third of the March Madness women’s and men’s audience are reached via Westwood One’s audio coverage; Among 18-34s, 40% of the NCAA men’s and women’s audience are reached by Westwood One’s audio coverage

Why advertise on Westwood One’s NCAA March Madness coverage?

• Engaged and passionate audience
• Desirable “on the go” consumers
• Incremental reach
• Frequency amplification
• Creative integrations that matter

Quantilope: Compared to the overall NCAA March Madness audience, AM/FM radio listeners are far more engaged

A new study conducted by Quantilope of 750 18+ NCAA fans reveals significantly different engagement and passion profiles between the overall tournament audience and AM/FM radio listeners.

Consider these five dimensions of sports engagement:

• Currently attend/graduated from a college that typically plays in the NCAA basketball tournament
• NCAA tournament fandom level: 8 or higher (Fandom scale where 1 = “not closely at all” and 10 = “love it”)
• Average # of NCAA tournament games followed
• % that follow the tournament through to the Final
• Mute NCAA tournament on TV to hear AM/FM radio coverage of the game

On each measure, Quantilope reports the AM/FM radio NCAA March Madness play-by-play audience for both the women’s and men’s tournament is more engaged and passionate than the overall audience.  

Compared to overall NCAA men’s March Madness fans, the AM/FM radio audience follows +21% more games and is:

• +51% more likely to have attended/graduated from a NCAA basketball college
• +28% more likely to be an NCAA tournament super fan (8+ on 1-10 fandom scale)
• +14% more likely to follow the tournament through to the Final
• +38% more likely to mute the tournament coverage on TV and hear the AM/FM radio coverage

For the women’s March Madness tournament, the audio broadcast also attracts a far more engaged audience.

Compared to overall NCAA women’s March Madness fans, the AM/FM radio audience follows +41% more games and is:

• +72% more likely to have attended/graduated from a NCAA basketball college
• +28% more likely to be an NCAA tournament super fan (8+ on 1-10 fandom scale)
• +8% more likely to follow the tournament through to the Final
• +30% more likely to mute the tournament coverage on TV and hear the AM/FM radio coverage

MRI-Simmons: Compared to the TV March Madness audience, the AM/FM radio audience is younger and more likely to be employed and have kids with larger households

NCAA basketball tournament audio ads have greater impact than TV because NCAA March Madness listeners are more passionate and sports-engaged

The 2025 MRI-Simmons study reveals on every measure of fandom and passion, the NCAA AM/FM radio audience is more engaged with sports than the NCAA basketball TV audience.

As NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio listeners are more engaged, they are more likely to be sports bettors

NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio listeners are 50% more likely to be sports bettors than the TV audience, according to the 2025 MRI-Simmons study. Greater passion and engagement in AM/FM radio play-by-play broadcasts mean a more attentive audience and an outstanding programming environment for marketers and brands.

The power of engagement: Westwood One’s NCAA audience is number one in 2025 NCAA basketball sports betting

Versus the TV audience, the NCAA audio audience is far more likely to be in the market for major purchases

Whether kitchen remodeling, buying large home furnishings, vehicle purchase or leasing, or purchasing a laptop, tablet, or smartwatch, the NCAA AM/FM radio audience is more likely to be in-market than the March Madness TV audience.

MRI-Simmons: NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio listeners are more likely than TV viewers to influence other consumers, extending commercial impact beyond the game

MRI-Simmons defines category influential consumers as deeply familiar with a product category, frequent recommenders across social networks, highly trusted, and word-of-mouth leaders for products and services. Those viewing and listening to the NCAA March Madness are indexed to the U.S. population.

Across an array of different purchase categories, NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio listeners are more likely to be product category influential than TV viewers.

Nielsen: NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audiences surge to reach 20 million listeners

Using Portable People Meter data, Nielsen conducted a special analysis of 2022-2023 Westwood One NCAA audiences and found they accumulate incremental reach each and every week of the season.

Westwood One’s NCAA broadcasts fit into people’s busy lives. Listeners have to go to the mall to pick up their children. They are running errands or returning from a trip to visit relatives. In the car, AM/FM radio play-by-play broadcasts are the “best available screen.”

The NCAA on Westwood One is a massive reach machine. Over the entire regular season, Westwood One’s NCAA play-by-play reach grows by over 50X between week one and ten.

This massive reach accumulation kicks into overdrive during March Madness. Nielsen’s analysis reveals Westwood One’s NCAA coverage reaches 20 million Americans across the season.

A third of March Madness women’s and men’s tournament audience listen to Westwood One’s audio coverage

Among 18-34s, 40% of the NCAA women’s and men’s audience listen to Westwood One’s audio coverage

Westwood One NCAA March Madness audio reaches fans away from home

Outside of the home, NCAA audio trumps video at work, in the car, and in some other place.

Quantilope: Adding Westwood One’s NCAA audio to the March Madness TV plan generates incremental reach and amplified frequency

Why advertise on Westwood One’s NCAA March Madness coverage?

• Engaged and passionate audience
• Desirable “on the go” consumers
• Incremental reach
• Frequency amplification
• Creative integrations that matter

Key takeaways:

• Nielsen: NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audiences surge to reach 20 million listeners

• Quantilope: Compared to NCAA March Madness TV viewers, AM/FM radio listeners are far more engaged and passionate, which means greater advertising effectiveness and impact
• MRI-Simmons: The NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audience is younger and more likely to be employed and have kids in bigger households versus the NCAA March Madness TV audience
• NCAA March Madness AM/FM radio audiences deliver consumers who are more likely to be in the market across major consumer categories, according to MRI-Simmons
• One-third of the March Madness women’s and men’s audience are reached via Westwood One’s audio coverage; Among 18-34s, 40% of the NCAA men’s and women’s audience are reached by Westwood One’s audio coverage

Click here to view an 11-minute video of the key findings.

View or download the 2026 NCAA Listening Report for advertisers:

View or download the 2026 NCAA Listening Report for affiliates:

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group^®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.