UCLA’s 79-51 victory over South Carolina for its first NCAA women’s basketball title on Sunday averaged 9.9 million viewers on ESPN and ABC, making it the third most-viewed women’s championship game since ESPN started televising the tournament in 1996.
It was the most-watched sports event of the past week according to Nielsen, and a 15% increase from last year’s game between UConn and South Carolina.
Sunday’s audience peaked at 10.7 million viewers at the conclusion despite the Bruins holding a significant lead in the second half.
Friday night’s national semifinals averaged 5.2 million on ESPN, the second most-watched since 1996. South Carolina’s win over UConn and UCLA’s victory over Texas ranking as the fourth- and fifth-most watched semifinal games on ESPN.
This year’s tournament on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged 1.3 million viewers, a 5% increase over last year. ABC and ESPN aired 41 of the 58 games.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
