Broadcast College Basketball Scores with Engaged Fans, Strong Buying Power and Rising Viewership!

By Michael Steinberg | VP/TV Insights & Analytics | Katz Television Group

College Basketball on broadcast TV delivers a growing, passionate audience with substantial purchasing power, making it a valuable platform for local advertisers.

A recent Katz study of College Basketball Viewers on Broadcast TV reveals many strong opportunities for advertisers:

• 82% of college basketball “superfans” are broadcast television viewers, making broadcast a high-value environment for reaching the sport’s most engaged audience.

• 53% live in $100K+ households, and collectively spent $206 billion on vacations, $76 billion on home improvements and $44 billion on internet purchases in the past year.

• College basketball broadcast viewers are 36% more likely to be major home-improvement spenders, 30% more likely to plan to buy a new vehicle, 57% more likely to have used a local insurance agent and 99% more likely to visit sports bars than the average adult.

• 94% of college basketball spot-TV advertisers fall within 15 core categories, led by automotive, local services, retail, financial/insurance, telecommunications, medical services and restaurants.

• During the 2025–26 regular season, CBS increased 12% to 1.6 million viewers per game, ABC rose 29% to 1.70 million, and FOX grew 38% to 1.2 million, its most-watched season ever!

Download our presentation to find out why connecting with College Basketball viewers on Broadcast Television is still an easy layup.