Women's College Basketball Across ESPN Platforms Scores Most-Watched Regular Season Since 2008-09
· Up 3% over 2023-24's historic season and +41% vs. 2022-23
· ESPN's most-consumed regular season ever with 2.9 billion total live minutes
· Across ESPN platforms, 15 games delivered more than 500,000 viewers - the most on record
Women's college basketball delivered its most-watched regular season on ESPN platforms since 2008-09. Viewership for the 2024-25 campaign finished 3% above the historic 2023-24 regular season with a whopping 41% increase over 2022-23. In all, the 87 women's games across ESPN platforms averaged 280,000 viewers.
It was also the most-consumed season on record for ESPN platforms with more than 2.9 billion total minutes watched of live women's college basketball games. In addition, ESPN platforms delivered 15 games with more than 500,000 viewers during the regular season - the most on record in a single season.
The regular season on ESPN platforms was also up 27% YoY among adults 18-34.
Individual Network Growth
ABC and ESPN both grew their audiences during the 2024-25 regular season:
· ESPN averaged 511,000 viewers, up 13% year-over-year
· ABC finished up 120% year-over-year, averaging 1.3 million viewers (3 games)
2024-25 Top Regular Season Women's College Basketball Games Across ESPN Platforms:
Date Time Platform Game Viewers
Feb 16 1 p.m. ABC No. 7 UConn at No. 4 South Carolina 1.8 million
Feb 16 3 p.m. ABC No. 5 LSU at No. 3 Texas 1.7 million
Feb 9 2 p.m. ESPN No. 2 South Carolina at No. 4 Texas 1 million
Feb 23 Noon ESPN N. 1 Notre Dame at No. 13 NC State 887,000
Dec 12 7 p.m. ESPN No. 2 UConn at No. 8 Notre Dame 847,000
*Rankings reflected for the date of the game
The ABC doubleheader of UConn at South Carolina (1.8 million) and LSU at Texas (1.7 million) - each on Feb. 16 - were the two most-viewed women's college basketball regular season games on ESPN platforms since 2010. ESPN platforms were home to seven of the top 10 women's college basketball regular season games across all networks this season.
The women's basketball season continues with Champ Week Presented by Principal, culminating in Sunday's NCAA Women's Selection Special Presented by Capital One at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN platforms will exclusively present the NCAA Div. 1 Women's Basketball Tournament for the 30th year - from the tip of the First Four until the final piece of the National Championship net is cut on April 6 in Tampa, Fla.
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