UConn-South Carolina most-watched women’s basketball title game since 2004

The NCAA women’s basketball championship game between UConn and South Carolina on Sunday averaged 4.85 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s final since 2004.

The game peaked at 5.91 million viewers as people tuned in to watch the Gamecocks take down the Huskies for their second national title.

The numbers are an 18 percent increase from 2021 and a 30 percent increase from 2019.

Last year’s game featured a 6 p.m. start time. This year’s contest was moved to primetime, making it the first women’s final to air in primetime since 2016.

The rising viewership numbers continue a trend seen during the Final Four, in which UConn-Stanford was the most-watched women’s semifinal game since 2012, averaging 3.23 million viewers. That marked a 19 percent increase from 2021 and 49 percent from 2019.

The contest between Louisville and South Carolina also drew big numbers as the most-watched early Final Four game since 2016, up 27 percent from 2021 and 43 percent over 2019 with 2.16 million viewers.