Louisiana State University captured the Men’s College World Series (MCWS) championship on Monday night, energizing fans of the Tigers and enticing people to tune in. The college, which has traditionally known for the success of its football program, secured the championship for the first time since 2009. Additionally, the championship the fourth consecutive College World Series title conquered by a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team. Now as the Tigers makes the trip back from Omaha, Neb. to Baton Rouge, La. to celebrate the monumental achievement, ESPN is reporting record viewership numbers across its platform.
The third and final game of the Men’s College World Series championship garnered an average of nearly 3.6 million viewers and peaked at 4.2 million. These metrics made the game the most-watched MCWS game on record for ESPN platforms, along with the most-watched telecast of any program in the United States. In fact, it eclipsed the average viewership of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights.
As a whole, the Finals series averaged 2.86 million viewers across the three games (ESPN/ESPNU), 75% higher than last year’s mark. Game 1 finished as the most-watched contest on the platforms and the fourth-best MCWS game on the network, while Game 2’s numbers were 38% higher last year and the second most-watched in history.
The 16-game postseason averaged a total of 1.65 million viewers, 48% higher from last year’s MCWS. Furthermore, this year’s championship was the 31st NCAA championship event to air across ESPN platforms in the 2022-23 season – which includes games in football and basketball.
Attendance for the event shattered previous records, drawing a total of approximately 400,000 fans and averaging just under 25,000 fans over the 16 games. LSU fans trekked to the field in droves and a quantifiable piece of evidence regarding the rise of college baseball.
