NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Most-Watched Season Finale in Nearly Two Decades

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South Carolina’s women’s basketball team celebrating its NCAA Tournament Championship. Photo: Courtesy of ESPN

South Carolina’s 64-49 win over UConn in the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship became the most-watched women’s title game since 2004, racking in 4.85 million viewers on Sunday night (April 3).

The championship was the fourth largest audience to watch a women’s championship game since ESPN began exclusively airing the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in 1996.

“ESPN’s commitment to women’s basketball has never been stronger and this year’s viewership numbers are a clear indication of the growing popularity of the sport and the NCAA Women’s Tournament,” says Nick Dawson, ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions. “Since ESPN began exclusively televising this event more than two decades ago, we have consistently strived to raise the bar in our presentation, and we are particularly gratified by our expanded coverage and the introduction of new elements like the MegaCast this year. We look forward to working with the NCAA to further enhance our presentation in the years ahead.”

The 4.85 million viewers tuning in across ESPN networks Sunday was the most-watched cable program of the day, an audience increase of 18% year-over-year and 30% from 2019. The matchup peaked from 9-9:15 p.m. CT with 5.91 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, as South Carolina captured its second national title during ESPN’s MegaCast presentation.

The 2022 NCAA Women’s Final Four is the most-watched Final Four weekend since 2012, averaging 3.46 million viewers. The audience for the trio of games throughout the weekend was up 20% from 2021.

The full NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament averaged 634,000 viewers per game, up 16% from last year’s coverage. The total hours of consumption were up 6% year-over-year, with viewers devouring 74.6 million hours of content across ESPN platforms, roughly 4.1 million more hours compared to 2021.

The 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament experienced several additional viewership milestones throughout, including:

  • The most-consumed early rounds on record
  • The most-watched early round window in more than 10 years
  • The most-watched Sweet 16 game on cable since 2017
  • The most-watched Elite Eight round in more than 10 years
  • The most-watched Elite Eight game in more than 10 years
Steven Boero
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