The NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship Game drew an absolutely incredible number.
Iowa and LSU met in the 2023 National Title Game on Sunday afternoon. They delivered a record-setting viewership number across ESPN platforms.
ESPN PR announced the game averaged 9.9 million viewers across the platforms of ABC, ESPN2, and ESPN+.
The game is the most-viewed NCAA women’s basketball game ever. It’s up 103 percent in year-over-year viewership and peaked at 12.6 million viewers. For ESPN+, it’s the most-watched college event ever for the streaming service.
𝟗.𝟗 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 🤯 Record-breaking #NationalChampionship thriller between @LSUwbkb & @IowaWBB makes TV history:
🏆 Most-viewed #NCAAWBB game on record
🏆 Up 103% YOY
🏆 Peaked at 12.6M
🏆 Most-viewed college event ever on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/UZLVNuP3Sf— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 3, 2023
This is a monstrous number for all involved. Women’s sports have been on the rise in terms of viewership and interest. The Women’s NCAA Tournament saw huge viewership gains across the entire event. They certainly capped it off with a bang with this impressive performance.
The sports world was sure to react to the incredible news.
“More than many major college football games, NBA Playoffs, #StanleyCup and there’s room for growth. Clark, Reese, and Paige Bueckers all come back next year,” Brent Axe tweeted.
That’s incredible. More than many major college football games, NBA Playoffs, #StanleyCup and there’s room for growth. Clark, Reese and Paige Bueckers all come back next year. https://t.co/WKZhMs8rPC
— Brent Axe (@BrentAxeMedia) April 3, 2023
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic provided perspective, citing CFB rating numbers that the WBB Final beat.
For some CFB perspective on 9.9 million viewers for the women's championship game.
That's more than last season's:
— Sugar, Orange and Cotton Bowls
— Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC title games
— Notre Dame-USC
— LSU-Alabama
— Ohio St-Penn St
— Bama-Texas A&M primetime on CBS— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 3, 2023
Chicago-area ESPN personality Sarah Spain was super hyped about the news.
10 MILLION?!?
ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON?!?
🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 https://t.co/8rrHqeoOei
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) April 3, 2023
And Austin Karp pointed out the game beat ratings numbers for the Elite Eight, the Daytona 500, and fell just shy of the number the Rose Bowl drew.
Some recent comps for the 9.9 million for the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship on ABC/ESPN2:
*Beat UConn-Gonzaga men's NCAA Elite 8 game on TBS (8 million)
*Beat Daytona 500 on Fox (8.2 million)
*JUST short of the 10.2 million for the Penn State-Utah Rose Bowl on ESPN
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) April 3, 2023
[ESPNPR]
