A total of 2 million viewers tuned in to watch the matchup between NC State and UConn in the Elite Eight, making it the most-watched Elite Eight game in the NCAA women’s tournament since 2006.
It’s also the most-watched NCAA women’s basketball game of 2022.
2M viewers watched Monday's @PackWomensBball 🆚 @UConnWBB thriller🏀Most-watched #NCAAWBB game of 2022🏀Best Elite 8 women's audience since 2006#MarchMadness on ESPN networks:🏀Elite 8 averaged 1.5M viewers🏀Thru Elite 8 (53 games) - viewership is up 11% pic.twitter.com/kjjZY2bbVM— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 29, 2022
2M viewers watched Monday's @PackWomensBball 🆚 @UConnWBB thriller🏀Most-watched #NCAAWBB game of 2022🏀Best Elite 8 women's audience since 2006#MarchMadness on ESPN networks:🏀Elite 8 averaged 1.5M viewers🏀Thru Elite 8 (53 games) - viewership is up 11% pic.twitter.com/kjjZY2bbVM
The four Elite Eight games this season averaged 1.5 million viewers on ESPN, making the Elite Eight the most-watched round since 2011 and a 29 percent increase over 2021. Monday’s matchup between Michigan and Louisville had similar viewership, posting 1.6 million viewers making it the second-most watched game of the 2022 tournament thus far.
Overall, the NCAA women’s tournament viewership is up 11 percent over 2021.
This year’s tournament has been breaking records all over the board. In addition to higher viewership, the first and second rounds broke a nearly 20-year-old attendance record. All of this comes as the NCAA is reportedly considering a change to the television rights for women’s March Madness, which would have the rights sold as a separate entity from the 28 other sports it’s normally looped in with.
The tournament continues on Friday with the Final Four. South Carolina will take on Louisville at 7 p.m. ET while UConn and Stanford will face off at 9:30 p.m. ET for a spot in the championship game.