Women’s college basketball continued to produce hefty audiences in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Tournament, with ESPN platforms reporting that the first and second rounds were the second highest. This year's audience levels were only behind the record breaking 2024 season.
Through two rounds, the 2025 Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament is averaging 602,000 viewers, the second-highest audience through this point since 2009. About 1 billion total minutes viewed through the first two rounds, marking the second most-consumed early rounds on record
ESPN reported that all platforms averaged 367,000 viewers, up 43% from 2023, making it the second most-watched first round since 2013 trailing only behind last year’s historic season.
ABC scored its second-best first round on record – averaging over one million viewers.
ESPN saw its second-best first round since 2008 – averaging 469,000 viewers.
The second round averaged 982,000 viewers, up 60% from 2023 and lagging only behind 2024. ESPN averaged its third best second round on record with 991,000 viewers. ESPN2 averaged 755,000 viewers across two games, its best second round since 2010.
South Dakota State/UConn, Indiana/South Carolina and Mississippi State/USC all rank within the Top-10 for most-watched second round games on record. The Alabama/Maryland game on ESPN2 peaked with 1.6 million viewers in the second overtime.
