ESPN scores second most-watched NCAA Women’s Final Four on record

*Based on Full Nielsen + Big Data Numbers

2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Game

• ESPN delivered the third largest audience since its exclusive rights agreement began in 1996, behind only 2024’s record-breaking game (South Carolina-Iowa) and 2023 (LSU-Iowa)
• Averaged 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 10.7 million viewers
• Audience was up 15% from last year’s title game
• Demos: Women (+25 YoY, 46% of audience), P18-49 (+18% YoY), P2-17 (+34% YoY)
• The Courtside at the Women’s Championship alternate telecast contributed 771K viewers (ESPN & ESPNU)

2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four

• Second most-watched National Semifinals since ESPN acquired the rights in 1996, averaging 5.2 million viewers
• South Carolina/UConn averaged 5.4 million viewers and peaked with 7.7 million viewers
  • Fourth-best Final Four game on ESPN networks
  • Up 47% YoY
• Texas/UCLA finished with 5 million viewers and peaked with 5.2 million viewers
  • Fifth-best Final Four game on ESPN networks
  • Up 19% YoY

A complete look at the viewership records set across ESPN networks during NCAA Women’s March Madness and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship will be released on Wednesday, April 8.