South Carolina women’s basketball draws most viewers to ESPN season opener since 2013
South Carolina women’s basketball caught attention on national TV this week.
Tuesday’s top-five matchup between the AP No. 1 Gamecocks and No. 5 N.C. State drew in the most viewers for an ESPN women’s college basketball season opener since 2013, ESPN said Thursday.
South Carolina’s 66-57 win over the Wolfpack brought in 506,000 viewers, with the audience peaking at nearly 700,000.
Viewership was up 179% from last year’s season opener, which also featured South Carolina and N.C. State. The 2020 game was televised on ESPN2 and brought in 181,000 viewers. The Gamecocks’ opener against Maryland averaged 134,000 viewers on ESPN in 2019.
The 2013 women’s college basketball season opener between Stanford and Connecticut attracted 536,000 viewers.
Ratings for last season’s women’s NCAA basketball tournament improved from 2019 for the title game, semifinals, Elite Eight and Sweet 16, The Washington Post reported in April. Every game in the 2021 women’s tournament was nationally televised for the first time, and six games were carried on ABC.
South Carolina plays 21 of its 29 regular season games on TV this season, with at least four other matchups scheduled for ESPN broadcasts (Maryland, UConn and both games vs. Kentucky). At least four games are scheduled for ESPN2, and three others could be carried by either ESPN2 or SEC Network.
SEC Network will carry at least seven South Carolina women’s basketball games, and the Gamecocks’ upcoming matchup with South Dakota will be televised on ESPN News at 7 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 11:58 AM.
