ESPN is off to a strong start in women’s college basketball, though it’s still behind the impressive numbers from the Caitlin Clark-led ratings of last season. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament recorded their second-best audience ever, only surpassed by last year’s first-round viewership driven by the Clark excitement. According to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s coverage on Friday and Saturday across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU averaged 367,000 viewers—down 22% compared to last season’s 471,000 viewers, but up 43% from 2023’s 257,000 viewers.
It’s important to note that games aired on ESPNEWS are not included in Nielsen ratings. In the second round, Sunday and Monday’s coverage averaged 982,000 viewers across the ESPN family of networks, again trailing last year’s tournament in terms of overall viewership.
#NCAAWBB viewers tuned in for ’25 First Round #MarchMadness action
🏀 Avg. 367K viewers across First Round, up 43% from ’23
🏀 2nd most-consumed First Round on record
🏀 ABC saw its 2nd most-viewed First Round EVER
🏀 ESPN saw its 2nd most-watched First Round since ’08 pic.twitter.com/iMHPsuD022— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 25, 2025
Another success for @MarchMadnessWBB across ESPN platforms 🤯
🏀 Avg. 982K viewers for 2025, the 2nd most-watched Second Round on record
🏀 Featuring 3 of the top 10 most-viewed Second Round games of all time
#MarchMadness | #NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/uo3BhzCZEg— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 25, 2025
Unsurprisingly, the two biggest stars in women’s college basketball led viewership numbers. UConn’s first-round victory over Arkansas State, featuring star player Paige Bueckers, averaged 1.1 million viewers on ABC, making it the third most-watched first-round game ever, according to ESPN PR. Additionally, the Huskies’ second-round win against South Dakota State drew 1.7 million viewers on Monday. Meanwhile, USC’s first-round win over UNC Greensboro, featuring superstar Juju Watkins, averaged 889,000 viewers on ABC, with the Trojans’ second-round victory over Mississippi State attracting 1.3 million viewers on ESPN. However, the anticipated matchup between Bueckers and Watkins was jeopardized when USC’s star suffered an ACL tear during the Trojans’ 96-59 win, though both teams could still meet in the Elite Eight if they win their upcoming games.
While some expected significant declines this year without Caitlin Clark, the noticeable increases in viewership compared to the 2023 tournament certainly highlight the ongoing growth of women’s college basketball in the post-Clark period. Per Karp, the first round generated 1.2 billion minutes of consumption across all networks, marking the second-best figure of all time, surpassed only by 2024. Such metrics will likely continue to be a key focus for ESPN throughout the remainder of this year’s tournament.
