Roku Says Streaming Of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Nearly Doubled From 2019 Levels

deadline.com:

Roku, one of the dominant U.S. streaming providers, says viewing on its platform of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament rose 75% over 2019 levels.TV streaming reach, defined as the number of Roku households streaming channels carrying tournament games during their live window, increased by almost 87%, Roku said.

About 58% of traditional linear TV tournament viewers on Roku in 2019 did not return to traditional TV to watch in 2021.Ratings on CBS reflected that shift, with Monday’s telecast of Baylor’s decisive win over Gonzaga dropping 14% from the 2019 title game, with about 17 million total viewers on average.

Streaming’s gains in this case don’t come at the expense of ViacomCBS, whose streaming service Paramount+ carried the game and