The NCAA's March Madness is set to resume with some unexpected changes.

• The NCAA's March Madness basketball tournaments are striving to restore a pre-pandemic sense of normality.
• The 2022 men's NCAA Tournament begins on CBS Sports and Turner Sports on Thursday, while the women's NCAA tournament will air on Disney properties ABC and ESPN starting on Friday.
• The women's tournament will also utilize the March Madness brand this year.
• Ad slots are sold out for both tournaments, according to networks.

The March Madness tournament, which has been disrupted by the pandemic for two years, is returning.

The 2022 men's NCAA Tournament begins on CBS Sports and Turner Sports, while ABC and ESPN will broadcast the women's NCAA tournament starting on Friday.

On Tuesday, executives from both Turner Sports and WarnerMedia discussed the upcoming March Madness tournament, which is expected to generate nearly $1 billion in advertising revenue for the men's side.

CBS Sports President Sean McManus stated that the country is prepared for the [NCAA] tournament.

We're returning to normalcy," said Turner Sports President Lenny Daniels, "and we aim to take it a step further.

The 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament was held in a bubble and saw the Baylor Bears win their first championship, while the networks lost the 2020 tournament due to Covid.

The upcoming tournament will feature the return of Duke and Kentucky, both absent last year, as well as legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski's pursuit of his final title with the Blue Devils.

Can the men’s tournament lure 20 million viewers?

The NCAA tournament's production this year will remain mostly the same. Virtual shot clocks will be used in games, and there will be in-game coach interviews. Additionally, rail and sky cameras will be integrated into Final Four broadcasts.

But will more viewers watch than they did last year?

The 2021 NCAA championship game between undefeated Gonzaga and Baylor drew an average of 16.9 million viewers for CBS Sports, a 14% decline from the 2019 game. This was the least-watched championship aired on CBS since the network started broadcasting the games in 1982.

An average of 14.9 million viewers tuned in for the 2021 men's Final Four basketball games.

This year, the NCAA men's tournament is returning to Turner Sports for the first time since 2018, when Villanova defeated the University of Michigan in the championship game, which attracted approximately 16.5 million viewers.

Since 2016, the NCAA men's championship game has been rotated between CBS and Turner. The last time the game drew over 20 million viewers was in 2017 when North Carolina played Gonzaga, attracting approximately 22 million viewers.

During the call on Tuesday, McManus stated that he couldn't predict the viewership for the 2022 tournament but emphasized that good games, compelling storylines, and the possibility of a Cinderella team emerging would all contribute to higher ratings.

The combination of out-of-home viewership with final metrics by Nielsen will help boost the tournament's viewership. Nielsen previously only provided at-home metrics for its linear TV reports, but now it will count TVs in places like airports, restaurants, and sports bars.

McManus praised Nielsen's decision to merge the metrics, stating that it benefits both the network and sponsors, and accurately measures content consumption.

Disney aims to surpass the previous year's women's title game between Arizona and Stanford, which drew an average of 4 million viewers and was the most-watched women's contest since 2014.

The 2021 women's semifinal games between Stanford and South Carolina attracted an average of 1.6 million viewers, while the University of Connecticut's loss to Arizona drew 2.6 million viewers, a 24% increase from the 2019 second semifinal game. The Sweet 16 games aired on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 had an average of 918,000 viewers, a 67% increase from 2019.

March Madness ads are sold out

The 2022 men’s tournament ad inventory is sold out, according to John Bogusz, an executive vice president at CBS Network’s sales division. Thirty-second spots for the tournament range from hundreds of thousands of dollars in the earlier rounds to more than $2 million for the NCAA title game.

This year, the automotive, insurance, and fast-food categories are experiencing high levels of activity and strength, while movie studios are returning to the ad rotation. Additionally, travel and technology companies will also promote around the games.

The 2021 men's basketball tournament saw an estimated ad spend of $1.05 billion, a 21.4% increase from the 2019 tournament, according to iSpot. The top spender was Coca-Cola, which spent $74.7 million on ads around the tournament. Geico followed closely behind with $46.7 million in ad spend, while Buick and Progressive spent $39.5 million and $37.7 million, respectively.

Bogusz stated that the projection for ad spend during the 2022 men's tournament is "in the range" of $1 billion, but did not provide specific details.

Jon Diament, Turner Sports' chief revenue officer, was impressed by the ad spend, stating, "It's quite outstanding that we can gobble that money up in just a three-week flight, given the limited time the networks have to air the games."

The NCAA announced that the 2022 NCAA women's tournament would be included in the March Madness brand, following growing pressure and criticism over its initial decision to only use the trademark for the men's tournament.

ESPN reported that it sold out its inventory for the women's tournament. Additionally, twenty-two advertisers including General Motors, Coca-Cola, and T-Mobile will run ads during the games.

The Super Bowl remains the most expensive inventory in the sports programming ad marketplace, with NBCUniversal charging roughly $6.5 million for Super Bowl 56 commercials and some brands paying a record-high $7 million for a 30-second ad.

Despite the high prices of sports programming, companies are not being deterred. In fact, advertisers are allocating additional dollars to purchase inventory, according to Bogusz.

The NCAA tournament offers the best drama on television and remains an attractive programming option for advertisers, according to McManus.

What is the expected increase in advertising revenue for the NCAA men's tournament when CBS returns in 2023? Bogusz stated that it may not reach $3 million per 30 seconds, but they anticipate an increase in pricing as they progress.

War contingency plans

Contingency plans are in place for updating the top news of the moment, which is Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while networks are preparing for a return to normalcy during March Madness.

McManus stated that there are more pressing matters occurring globally than the NCAA tournament, and that the events taking place in Ukraine are of greater significance than the basketball games being played.

McManus explained the network's approach to covering the war in Ukraine by referencing the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. He stated that the networks would update the conflict as necessary and handle it in the best way possible.

Daniels stated that CBS News and CNN are two of the top production companies and news organizations, and he believes they will make the right decisions.