ESPN's Little League Softball coverage hit a new high this summer. The network aired 81 regional tournament games across seven sites in July, then tipped off the Little League Softball World Series on August 2nd in Greenville, NC with all 22 games across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.
Combined, 36 games from regionals through the championship will air on linear TV, marking the most in event history.
The expanded slate comes with a growing audience to match. Last year's Little League Softball World Series championship drew 1.44 million average viewers, peaking at 2.98 million. Those numbers signaled a 139% jump over 2024.
What Happened in the Little League Softball World Series Opening Weekend?
This year's tournament gives that audience plenty to tune into. Twelve teams remain in the 2026 World Series double-elimination bracket: eight US squads, including a North Carolina host team, plus international entries from Japan, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
The first weekend of play saw Lake Mary, FL roll the Northwest 14-0 behind three RBIs each from Brynn Fieser and Callie Ousley. Central piled on early with seven first-inning runs in an 11-1 rout of the West. And Sangō, Japan rode pitcher Sara Matsuda past Toms River, NJ 4-1 to open Asia-Pacific's bracket run.
The tournament continues this week before the championship game airs August 9th on ABC.
