Despite Oklahoma winning its fourth straight title and sweeping Texas in two games, the Women’s College World Series Finals broke records for ESPN.
The Sooners’ two-game victory over the Longhorns averaged two million viewers on ESPN, the most-watched Women’s College World Series Finals matchup on record.
Game 1 on Wednesday drew 1.9 million viewers, while the clinching Game 2 averaged 2 million on Thursday.
Wednesday’s audience was the largest ever for a Game 1 and was up 46% from last year. As a whole, the two-game series was up 24% from last year and 3% from 2015 (Florida-Michigan, which went three games), the previous record high.
Game 2’s audience was also the fifth most-watched Women’s College World Series game on record. ESPN+ also delivered strong viewership for both games, with the two ranking as the second and third most-watched softball games in the history of the streaming service.
The Women’s College World Series is part of the NCAA championship bundle, which ESPN renewed earlier this year for eight more years at a reported value of $115 million annually. While it does not include the men’s basketball tournament or the College Football Playoff, it does include the women’s basketball tournament, the FCS Playoffs, and championships in other sports like softball, baseball, gymnastics, volleyball, and ice hockey.
While football and men’s basketball typically generate most of the headlines and viewership for college sports, viewership for some of the other sports included in the championship bundle has been spiking recently. The women’s basketball tournament shattered records this spring for ESPN, while several other networks set new records for regular season games. Last winter’s volleyball tournament also broke records, while regular-season matches aired on network television opposite NFL games. Last spring, the gymnastics championships and Frozen Four each set a decade-plus high.
[ESPN]
