Florida vs. Houston draws 18.1 million viewers, becomes most-watched National Championship since 2019

A Final Four made up entirely of No. 1 seeds resulted in a major TV ratings win for CBS. Monday’s national championship between Florida and Houston was the icing on the cake.

The Gators’ victory over the Cougars drew 18.1 million viewers on average, CBS and Turner Sports announced Tuesday. The end of the game peaked at 21.1 million viewers as Florida completed a wild comeback to defeat Houston and bring home its first championship since 2007. That made it the most-watched title game since 2019 and a 22% increase from last year’s championship between UConn and Purdue, which averaged 14.8 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV.

Monday’s game capped off a huge Final Four for CBS, with an average of 16.4 million viewers tuning in for the three games to mark a 21% increase and the best mark since 2017. As a whole, NCAA Tournament viewership was up 3% with an average of 10.2 million across the four networks – CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

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 NCAA Tournament had plenty of momentum entering the title game thanks to two huge ratings wins to open the Final Four in San Antonio. Saturday’s slate became the most-watched since 2017 as an average of 15.3 million people tuned in for the national semifinals. That number then grew once the final Nielsen ratings came out as 14.8 million people watched Florida vs. Auburn and 16.3 million tuned in for Houston vs. Duke.

The Final Four ratings success came despite a dip for the Elite Eight. Viewership was down 10% during the Regional Finals from a year ago, according to data compiled by Sports Media Watch. Of course, last year’s game occurred over Easter weekend, which helped fuel a boost in ratings. This season’s Elite 8 was still up 4% from the 2023 event.

Florida staged an impressive comeback during Monday’s national championship, leading for just 64 total seconds in the game. But the Gators were out in front when it mattered as they stunned Houston to win their first national title since the Billy Donovan-coached team in 2007 completed back-to-back championships.

Will Richard led the charge for Florida, thanks to a monster first half. He had a team-high 18 points while Condon added 12 points and seven rebounds. Following a silent first half, Walter Clayton Jr. emerged down the stretch, scoring all 11 of his points in the final nine minutes of the game.