TikTok Turns Up NCAA Tournament Hype Cycle

The NCAA Tournament is never short on buzz each year. And despite a chalky result on both the men's and women's in 2025, March Madness hype on TikTok is already on pace to outdo last year's results – according to new data from Tubular Labs.

• From Selection Sunday through the end of last year's tournaments, March Madness videos generated 2.0 billion views on TikTok – but this year's already have 1.9 billion videos, with the Final Four still to go for both the men and women.
• This year is also achieving greater success per video upload; 2024 had 2.0 billion views on 34.1K uploads, while this year's 1.9 billion views come on just 24.6K uploads so far.
• Bleacher Report video views (207 million) during this year's event have already surpassed last year's (170 million), and March Madness views for other publishers like House of Highlights, ESPNW, ESPN and more have all soared on TikTok year-over-year.

The increases, despite a limited number of upsets and buzzer-beaters this time around, showcase how many publishers have still found creative ways to keep audiences engaged with compelling digital content.

Want to learn more about social video data from Tubular Labs? Get in touch with an analyst at The Measure today.