This year’s Little League World Series produced historically good ratings for ESPN. As per a release the company put out Tuesday, Sunday’s championship game was the most-watched since 2019, and their coverage of the event overall drew its best ratings since 2015. Here’s more from that release:
The 2023 edition of the Little League Baseball World Series Presented By T-Mobile from Williamsport, Pa. was the most-watched on ESPN platforms since 2015, according to Nielsen. The 38-game slate averaged 1,081,000 viewers, up 22 percent from last year, and was also up double-digits in all key demos, including M18-34, M18-49, M25-54, P18-34, P18-49 and P25-54.
The 2023 Little League Baseball World Series Championship Game on Sunday, August 27, averaged nearly three million viewers (2,944,000) on ABC, making it the most-watched since 2019. The broadcast was up 18 percent from last year’s Championship Game and peaked with 4,060,000 viewers at 5:15 p.m. ET.
In addition, the 2023 Little League Baseball United States Championship Game on Saturday, August 26, averaged 2,528,000 viewers, up four percent from last year. Saturday’s Little League Baseball World Series International Championship Game averaged 1,677,000 viewers, up nine percent from 2023. Both games on August 26 aired on ABC.
In that release, ESPN also noted that their Little League Softball World Series coverage earlier this month also drew impressive numbers. Their championship game broadcast on ABC was up 208 percent from 2022’s broadcast on ESPN, impressive even after considering the broadcast versus cable reach divide. Here’s more from their softball release:
The 2023 Little League Softball World Series Championship Game on ABC – New York defeated North Carolina 5-2 on Sunday, August 13 – was the second-most watched ever, according to Nielsen. The broadcast averaged 861,000 viewers, placing it behind only the 2002 Championship Game historically.
…Overall, the Little League Softball World Series, which aired across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, averaged 340,000 viewers, ranking as the most-watched since the 2010 event. This year marked the first time that the Little League Softball World Series Championship Game aired on ABC.
That’s definitely impressive on both fronts. And it suggests that ESPN and ABC will be quite eager to be in the business of televising the Little League Baseball and Softball World Series for some time to come. (Even with damage to their equipment.)
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.