NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship Game on ESPN up 11% From Last Year
Sunday’s thrilling NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship game, which saw Baylor defeat defending champ Notre Dame (6 p.m. ET, ESPN), averaged a 2.2 overnight rating, up 11% from 2018. The matchup peaked with a 3.4 rating in the final minutes of the game.
The Women’s Final Four (semifinals and championship game) averaged a 1.6 rating, which is up 8% from last year.
Local Markets
Last night’s game saw record-setting ratings in local markets. Austin averaged a 4.4 rating, the highest-rated game since the 2012 championship game, which also featured Notre Dame and Baylor. Chicago had its highest-rated women’s college basketball game this season, with a 1.6 rating. Tampa, the host city, averaged a 3.1 local rating. Top ten markets were:
| Rank | Market | Rating |
| 1 | Hartford & New Haven | 6.8 |
| 2 | New Orleans | 4.7 |
| 3 | Portland, Ore. | 4.5 |
| 4 | Austin | 4.4 |
| 5 | Indianapolis | 4.1 |
| 6 | Louisville | 4.0 |
| 7 | Columbus, Ohio | 3.8 |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 3.8 | |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 3.7 |
| 10 | Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws | 3.6 |
The Final Four weekend concluded a month-long tournament full of upsets, buzzer beaters and down-to-the-wire matchups, on par with last year’s postseason average.
Viewership details will be available later this week.
-30-
