ESPN Reports Significant Growth in College Basketball Viewership for Women’s and Men’s Games

ESPN has noted substantial growth in viewership for both women's and men's college basketball this season, with women's games up 33% year-over-year, on track for the highest audience in 17 years. Men's college basketball viewership has increased by 25%, also heading toward its best season in 11 years.

As of February 9, ESPN networks have broadcast nine of the top 20 women’s games and 10 of the top 20 men’s games across all television platforms. The most-watched women’s game occurred on February 8, when South Carolina defeated Tennessee, averaging 1.5 million viewers and peaking at 2.1 million. Other notable matchups included Oklahoma versus Texas on February 1, which averaged 1.1 million viewers, and a December game featuring Iowa and Iowa State, which attracted 1.034 million viewers. Overall, ESPN has shown 12 games averaging over 500,000 viewers this season, surpassing last year’s count by four games, and represents nearly half (48%) of all live women's college basketball minutes watched.

In men's college basketball, ESPN has aired 10 of the most-watched games this season, with three surpassing two million viewers. The February 7 matchup between Duke and North Carolina averaged 3.5 million viewers and peaked at 4.8 million, marking ESPN's highest viewership for a men’s game since 2022. Other top games included the Kentucky-Arkansas and BYU-Kansas games on January 31, which were the most-watched sporting events of that day. The Big Monday franchise has also performed well, with the February 9 game between Arizona and Kansas attracting 1.8 million viewers. This season, ESPN networks account for 45% of all men's college basketball viewing time and 29 of the top 30 games on cable.

ESPN’s College GameDay, which covers men's and women's college basketball, has also experienced growth. The women’s show, which debuted on February 1, was up 22% compared to last season’s average, while the men's program is up 10%. The January 31 episode from Kansas was the most-watched regular season morning episode since 2015.