While the Men’s NCAA Tournament is shedding viewers, the Women’s version is seeing major increases.
Through the first four rounds, viewership for games on ESPN and ESPN2 has increased 43% and 31%, respectively. ESPN is averaging a 1.0 rating for women’s games, up 43% from a 0.7 last year, while ESPN2 is averaging a 0.6, up 20% from a 0.5 last year.
The higher ratings for the Women’s NCAA Tournament come off of increased ratings during the regular season, including a 67% increase for Big Monday telecasts on ESPN2.
While the gap between the women’s tournament and the men’s tournament is still huge, there is no doubt that interest in the women’s game is increasing. Even the WNBA Finals saw increased ratings last year. While women’s sports — and women’s basketball in particular — still has a long way to go to achieve mainstream interest, this positive momentum is at the very least a good sign.
