The Oklahoma Sooners Women’s Softball team made history in more ways than one on Thursday, securing a record breaking fourth consecutive national title in what is now the most-watched NCAA Women’s College World Series finals on record.
According to ESPN, the two-game series averaged 2M viewers, up 24% from last year and 3% from the previous all-time high in 2015.
Game 2 peaked with 2.5M viewers. Its 2M average viewers put it at the fifth-best WCWS game on record
Additionally, Games 1 and 2 have become the second and third most-watched softball games on ESPN+.
The WCWS viewership is impressive, if only to be expected due to a rising interest in women’s sports across the U.S. This has been especially true over the past year, as the Women’s World Cup drew strong audiences despite the fact that the USWNT was eliminated far earlier than anticipated.
Nielsen also credited the Women’s NCAA tournament for boosting cable viewership in March, noting that the games had a larger impact on the overall cable audience than it usually does.
