The 2023 Women’s College World Series championship series, which saw Oklahoma defeat Florida State to pull off a three-peat, averaged 1.6 million viewers, ESPN announced Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Thursday’s title game — which extended the Sooners’ win streak to 53 games — averaged 1.9 million viewers, peaking at 2.3 million, a 7 percent increase from last year.
- The 2022 championship series also averaged 1.6 million viewers. That viewership, though down slightly from the record-setting 1.85 million average in 2021, notably topped the 2022 Men’s College World Series final ratings.
- The Sooners have now won three consecutive national titles, a feat that just one other Division I softball program has ever accomplished: UCLA did it from 1988 to 1990. The 2023 title is Oklahoma’s fifth in seven seasons and sixth in the past 10.
Game 2 of the 2023 @NCAASoftball #WCWS Championship Series averaged 1.9M viewers with a peak audience of 2.3M
🥎The two game champ series between @FSU_Softball and @OU_Softball averaged 1.6M viewers#NCAASoftball | #Team40 | #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/qzF4614XBd
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 9, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What to make of the viewership numbers
Women’s softball continues to be a tremendous…
