ESPN experienced plenty of viewership success in 2023, and women’s sports played a big role.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro in the network’s 2023 year in review said elevating women’s sports helped drive overall viewership upwards.
“In a year where sports media continued to see unpredictable and constant upheaval, ESPN once again proved its brand strength is as vibrant as it is massive,” he said. “Overall viewership continues to climb, in part due to our focus on expanding our women’s sports coverage.”
Whether it was women’s college basketball, women’s college volleyball, pro women’s tennis or the WNBA, ESPN saw viewership growth.
The 2022-23 women’s college basketball season was the most watched regular season on ESPN networks since 2014-15. Women’s March Madness across the family of networks was the most-watched since 2009. The Women’s Final Four was the most-viewed Division I women’s semifinals on record averaging 6.5 million viewers. The national championship audience of 9.9 million on April 2, making it the most-viewed women’s hoops game ever.
The national championship for women’s volleyball between Texas and Nebraska averaged 1.7 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched college volleyball match ever. Over half the audience (51%) for the match was women.
In women’s college gymnastics, the NCAA championship meet was the most-watched college gymnastics telecast in 16 years.
In pro tennis, ESPN’s presentation of the U.S. Open women’s championship delivered 3.4 million and was the network’s most-viewed women’s major final ever.
Viewership for coverage of the Little League Softball World Series was also up big. The whole tournament averaged 340,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, with the championship game marking the network’s 2nd most-watched on record going back to 2001.
When it came to the WNBA, ESPN had its most-watched regular season in 2023 in seven years, averaging 440,000 viewers. The return of Brittney Griner in late June on ESPN was the most-watched WNBA regular season game on cable since 1999.
WNBA playoff coverage was also the network’s most-watched since 2007, averaging 470,000 viewers. WNBA Finals viewership was the network’s best in 20 years with an average of 728,000 viewers. Game 1 of that series between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces was the most-watched Game 1 ever. It drew 729,000 viewers and aired on ABC.
