• by Wayne Friedman , March 19, 2018

Through the opening rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, national TV revenue is 6% higher versus a year ago.

National TV advertising on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV totaled $424.9 million through March 18, according to iSpot.tv -- versus $400.8 million on CBS, TNT TBS, truTV, and CBS Sports a year ago.

For this year’s event to date, CBS had 289 spots with 1,566 commercial airings, followed by TNT at 256 spots with 1,247 airings; truTV at 247 spots and 1,280 airings; and TBS with 260 spots and 1,256 airings.

GEICO has had 135 airings of its commercials across all networks, with an estimated $14.3 million in national TV spending. Additional spots include: Capital One with 134 airings at $13.8 million; Taco Bell with 127 airings at $8.2 million; and AT&T Wireless with 118 airings at $13.5 million.

McDonald's claims 118 airings at $5.6 million. Bud Light also has 118 airings, at $7.8 million; followed by DirecTV, with 114 airings at $12.3 million; Samsung Mobile, with 109 airings at $9.8 million; Google Cloud, with 109 airings at $9.3 million; and GMC, with 102 airings, at $10.5 million.

This year repeated many of the big spenders of a year ago: AT&T ($18.7 million in 2017); Capital One ($14.5 million); Coca-Cola ($13.4 million); Samsung Mobile ($12.5 million); GEICO ($12.2 million); Allstate ($11.6 million); and GMC ($10.3 million).