"NBA is unwatchable. Terrible product.": Fans collide in heated NBA vs NCAA debate as men's March Madness hits best viewership record since 1993
The 2025 March Madness is a huge hit among sports fans. Sports Business Journal editor Austin Karp posted on X on Tuesday that viewership for this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is up 3% compared to 2024, with the Big Dance averaging 9.4 million viewers.
This marks the highest viewership for the NCAA Tournament through the second round of games since 1993. The figures combine ratings from the four networks broadcasting the March Madness games: CBS, TNT Sports, TBS and truTV.
Radio host and television analyst Clay Travis reacted to Karp's post, comparing NCAA March Madness' viewership numbers to the declining ratings of the NBA.
"The NCAA Men’s tournament just posted the best ratings so far since 1993." Travis posted. "Meanwhile the NBA has lost 75% of its audience since 1998. People like basketball. They just hate the NBA. Really kind of amazing to see."
One fan echoed Travis' sentiment about the NBA.
"The NBA is unwatchable. Terrible product. Awful people," one fan replied.
Another fan argued that basketball fans can watch the NBA through other platforms and not just on TV.
"I don’t think the NBA has lost 75%. There are far more ways to watch now with league pass and local streaming," one fan tweeted.
Here are some other reactions.
"It's the gambling, not the basketball," one fan wrote.
"The brand of basketball is head and shoulders above the NBA," one fan shared.
"The NBA has become soulless. No rivalry, no competition. Just a bunch of skilled best friends playing against one another. I can watch that at my local YMCA lol," one fan posted.
"Meanwhile, the NBA keeps printing money: Revenue increasing (up 700M from last year), franchises continue to be worth more, salary cap keeps going up to accommodate. NCAA Basketball is great, AND the NBA is doing just fine," one fan commented.
2025 March Madness heats up with Sweet 16 matches
The 2025 March Madness is nearing its conclusion with the NCAA Tournament now in its Sweet 16 phase. Among the games to watch in this round in the men's tournament are Auburn vs. Michigan, Ole Miss vs. Michigan State, Florida vs. Maryland, Texas Tech vs. Arkansas, Duke vs. Arizona, BYU vs. Alabama, Houston vs. Purdue and Kentucky vs. Tennessee.
The women's tournament also has wonderful matchups in store in this round, including UCLA vs. Ole Miss, LSU vs. NC State, USC vs. Kansas State, Oklahoma vs. UConn, South Carolina vs. Maryland, North Carolina vs. Duke, Texas vs. Tennessee and Notre Dame vs. TCU.