SEC, ACC, Pac-12 women's basketball championships draw record viewership

Sunday marked a record day for ESPN’s women’s basketball conference championship tripleheader. The network aired the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 tournament championship games – and viewership skyrocketed.

The SEC championship led the way with 2 million viewers watching LSU take on South Carolina, which was a 126% increase from last year. That followed the ACC title game between Notre Dame and NC State, which drew 1.4 million viewers for a whopping 462% increase from last year’s installment. The night ended with the Pac-12 Championship, which saw USC defeat Stanford. An average of 679,000 fans tuned in, which was up 42% from the 2023 title game.

Each game was the most-watched on ESPN platforms from its respective leagues, as well.

Those figures added to a record day for women’s basketball. Earlier Tuesday, CBS announced the Big Ten championship between Iowa and Nebraska became the most-watched women’s conference tournament game with an average of 3 million viewers tuning in for the overtime thriller.

There was no shortage of drama, controversy during ESPN’s conference championship tripleheader

The SEC championship game stole headlines for what happened late in the game – a South Carolina victory. The benches cleared, leading to the ejection of Gamecocks star Kamilla Cardoso that will keep her out for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the brother of LSU standout Flau’jae Johnson was arrested after jumping the scorer’s table to get onto the court in the scuffle.

The other two title games got interesting, as well. Notre Dame outscored NC State 14-8 in the fourth quarter to come away with the 55-51 victory, led by heroics from Hannah Hidalgo. The true freshman won Most Outstanding Player after dropping 22 points on the Wolfpack to help propel the Fighting Irish to their first conference title since 2019.

In the nightcap between USC and Stanford, Trojans star Juju Watkins was held to a season-low nine points. However, McKenzie Forbes rose to the occasion in a big way with 26 points to help USC defeat Stanford 74-61 to bring home a Pac-12 title.

With the NCAA Tournament looming, ESPN’s successful Championship Sunday slate and CBS’ impressive figures will likely help set the table for the rest of the postseason. The biggest names in women’s basketball – from Caitlin Clark to Paige Bueckers to Angel Reese – will play on the game’s biggest stage, and they’ll find out when they play during Sunday’s Selection Show.