NCAA March Madness 2025: All the Shows Impacted by the Men’s Basketball Tournament
The 2025 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament (better known as March Madness) is officially underway! Unfortunately, if you’re not a basketball fan, this could be bad news, as some of your favorite shows may be preempted while the games are being broadcasted on CBS over the next three weeks.
The first and second rounds of games are on from March 20-23, followed by the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 from March 27-30, and the Final 4 and National Championship on April 5 and April 7, respectively.
Scroll down to find out how your favorite shows will be impacted!
Thursday, March 20
The tournament is airing on CBS all day long, beginning at 12 p.m. That means that daytime television is affected, in addition to primetime. CBS soaps The Bold and the Beautiful, Beyond the Gates, and The Young and the Restless all won’t be airing in their usual slots in favor of the basketball games, and Let’s Make a Deal is also preempted.
The Thursday night primetime schedule will also be affected. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts, Matlock, and Elsbeth are all preempted.
Robert Voets/CBS
For some, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune also might not be airing. This will be based on local listings, so check yours for more information. For Jeopardy! lovers, one fan made this helpful spreadsheet that can provide more context.
Friday, March 21
Once again, March Madness coverage begins at 12 p.m., so all of the CBS soaps (The Bold and the Beautiful, Beyond the Gates, and The Young and the Restless) are preempted, along with Let’s Make a Deal.
CBS’ Friday night schedule also won’t feature its regular programming. This affects NCIS: Sydney, Fire Country, and S.W.A.T., all of which won’t be airing on March 21.
Eric Milner/CBS
Again, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune could be affected depending on local listings, so check yours for more information.
Sunday, March 23
Viewers of CBS’ Sunday night primetime schedule are in luck. The basketball games end at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, so Tracker, Watson, and The Equalizer are all airing as usual.
Thursday, March 27
With only 16 teams left in the tournament at this point, CBS’ full schedule isn’t impacted. Therefore, the daytime soap operas are back in action.
However, CBS will be airing two games during primetime, so Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts, Matlock, and Elsbeth won’t be on again this week. New episodes return on Thursday, April 3.
The tournament picks back up at 7:00 p.m., so the same stipulations as March 20 and 21 are in place for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Check your local listings.
Friday, March 28
Once again, the daytime schedule is not affected, but there will be two more basketball games on Friday evening, meaning that NCIS: Sydney, Fire Country, and S.W.A.T. are all still preempted this week. Check back on Friday, April 4, for new episodes.
The Friday night games begin at 7:00 p.m. on CBS, so check your local listings for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune again.
Monday, April 7
The National Championship game is on Monday, April 7. Although it doesn’t start until 8:50 p.m. ET on CBS, there is likely a pregame show, too, meaning that the network’s primetime schedule will be affected.
The Neighborhood, Poppa’s House, NCIS, and NCIS: Origins will be preempted.
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