Skip to main content

Screen Wars Thought Leader Interviews are also available on

SpotifyApple PodcastGoogle Podcast
State of the Screens

March Madness 2021 Advertising: By The Numbers

By March 19, 2021No Comments

March Madness Advertising

National TV ad spending on NCAA March Madness (YoY growth) according to Kantar:
1) 2015 – $848M
2) 2016 – $888M (↑ 5%)
3) 2017 – $917M (↑ 3%)
4) 2018 – $943M (↑ 3%)
5) 2019 – $910M (↓ 3%)

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship- National TV Ad Spending

Quote from Jon Diament – Exec VP & CRO @ Turner Sports:

“Financially, we’ve never been in better shape. This is the best year we’ve ever had.”

Unique advertisers for NCAA March Madness:

1) 2015 – 92
2) 2016 – 92
3) 2017 – 93
4) 2018 – 97
5) 2019 – 102
6) 2021P – 100+

Average ad spend per advertiser for NCAA March Madness:

1) 2015 – $9.2M
2) 2016 – $9.7M (↑ 5%)
3) 2017 – $9.9M (↑ 2%)
4) 2018 – $9.7M (↓ 1%)
5) 2019 – $8.9M (↓ 8%)

Top advertisers during 2019 NCAA March Madness:
1) General Motors – $75M
2) AT&T – $64M
3) Berkshire Hathaway – $42M
4) Capital One – $40M
5) Coca-Cola – $31M

Reliable: 23 advertisers have appeared in the past 10+ tournaments!

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.