Sunday’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Championship– a 4-0 North Carolina Courage victory over the Chicago Red Stars– was seen by an average audience of 166,000 viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched NWSL match in three years. The audience was 43 percent higher than the 2018 Final and the NWSL’s best audience since the 2016 Final (Western New York vs. Washington, 180,000 viewers).

Season highlights:

• The playoffs on ESPN2 averaged 148,000 viewers overall, up 66 percent from 2018.

• The NWSL season finished with an average of 81,000 viewers across ESPN networks, up 7 percent year-over-year.
• The 2019 NWSL season on ESPN networks made its biggest year-over-year gains among viewers 18-49 with an average of 37,000 viewers, a 32 percent increase over last year.

 In July, ESPN announced a media rights agreement for the second half of the 2019 NWSL season, featuring 14 match telecasts.

 About NWSL:
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is the highest level of professional women’s soccer in the United States. Featuring players from around the world, the nine-team Division-I women’s professional soccer league includes Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Utah Royals FC and the Washington Spirit. Based in Chicago, the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association and the United States Soccer Federation. www.NWSLsoccer.com.

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Contacts:  Belen Michelis, ESPN, (860) 766-1425, [email protected]
Mac Nwulu, ESPN, (860) 766-4196, [email protected]