Overview
The 2026 NCAA March Madness tournament is poised to be a massive cultural and financial event, set to surpass last year’s peak viewership of 21.1M during the championship game.1 Spanning 23 days of high-intensity basketball, the tournament features 134 total games as 136 teams battle through the Sweet Sixteen and Final Four toward the championships in Indianapolis and Phoenix. For brands, this represents a premier window to engage a captive audience through real-time activation strategies that drive visits, sales, and household penetration.
The When: Event Fast Facts
- Host Cities: 17 known host cities across the entire US, with more cities to be named in mid-March
- Dates: March 15 - April 6, 2026 (23 days of live content)
- Broadcasters: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV will cover linear TV broadcasting with games also streaming on March Madness Live and Paramount+
- Scale: 136 total teams participating across 134 games
The Where: Critical Viewing & Host Locations
Reach fans at the intersection of their passions and real-world locations, whether they are being an armchair fanatic, heading to bars and restaurants, or traveling to watch their chosen team in-person:
-
Host Cities: Capture fans attending games in-person to influence behaviors before, during, or after the game.
- Men’s Host Cities: Dayton, Buffalo, Greenville, Oklahoma City, Portland, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis, Houston, San Jose, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Indianapolis.
- Women’s Host Cities: 3 fixed cities including Fort Worth, Sacramento, and Phoenix. The Women's tournament uses a "Home Campus" format for the first 2 rounds, so those 16 cities won't be known until Selection Sunday (March 15, 2026).
- At Home / At a Friend’s House: Connect with 76% of fans watching from home and 10% of fans watching from a friend’s house.2
- Out of Home: intersect fans watching in social, high-spend environments like sports bars and fan fests.
The Who: High-Value Fan Personas
GroundTruth’s first-party data identifies the top audience overlaps for fans who attended March Madness in person last year. Brands should capitalize on the 12% increase in ad viewership during March Madness and the 10.5 average hours spent watching the tournament per household3:
- The In-Person Fan: Reach fans in high-traffic areas at or around stadiums to capture fans celebrating team victories.
- The Social Fan: Influence viewers as they spend at local retailers, bars, and community hubs.
- The Armchair Fan: Leverage tournament hype to capitalize on spikes in CPG, Retail, and QSR spend.
Strategic Tactics & Channel Approach
Recommended Solutions
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| Blueprints and On-Premise Targeting | Map high-traffic areas and community hubs to engage consumers in real-time while they are actively spending in social environments. |
| CTV and Mobile Pairing | Deploy on both channels to stay top-of-mind among fans who are increasingly engaged with NCAA content while watching or hosting from home. |
| Live Sports | Access premium live sports programming across top streaming apps, including live games and pre/post-game coverage. |
| Spanish-Speaking TV | Hispanic viewership for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship skyrocketed by 354% between 2021 and 2024.4 Target this audience using native Spanish-language inventory like Univision and beIN Sports. |
Success in Action
A leading beer brand utilized GroundTruth’s precision mobile targeting during the football season to drive over 730k visits to Circle K locations. By layering Customer Audiences with On-Premise and Neighborhood targeting, the brand delivered $1.8M in incremental sales and an impressive 17.6X ROAS.
Interested in learning more?
Ready to break the bracket with your brand? Reach out to your GroundTruth representative or selfservehelp@groundtruth.com.
Sources: 1SportsPro, 2YouGov, 3Comcast, 4Latin Times
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