A successful Women’s College World Series ended with a near-record audience Wednesday.
Game 3 of the Florida/Michigan Women’s College World Series final earned 2.3 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday night, the second-largest audience ever for a WCWS game (dates back to 1990). Only Game 3 of the 2007 Arizona/Tennessee final earned more viewers (2.33M to 2.27M).
Four of the nine largest WCWS audiences took place this year alone, with Tuesday’s Game 2 ranking sixth (1.9M) and the Michigan/LSU (2.0M) and UCLA/Auburn (1.6M) bracket round games ranking fourth and ninth, respectively. Every other game in the top ten took place in 2009 or earlier.
Overall, the Florida/Michigan series averaged 1.9 million viewers and the full Women’s College World Series 1.2 million — both all-time records.
Detroit was the top draw for the championship round, averaging a 4.0 rating for the three games. Birmingham, AL (3.9) ranked second, with Oklahoma City (3.5), Knoxville, TN (3.4), and Jacksonville (3.0) rounding out the top five.
(Wed. numbers and WCWS avg. from ESPN)
