Brenna Alyssa/D1Softball
Oklahoma vs. Texas WCWS Championship Series Draws Record TV Viewers
Top StoriesOklahoma’s historic win over Texas in game two of the WCWS Championship Series on Thursday night was watched by 2.036 million viewers.
That viewership number makes the game the 5th-most-watched college softball game ever recorded. (Note that out-of-home viewing was added to Nielsen’s viewership tallies beginning in 2020.)
Additionally, the two-game WCWS Championship Series between the Sooners and the Longhorns becomes the most-watched World Series final on record, averaging 2 million viewers per game.
Game 1 of the series between the Sooners and Longhorns averaged 1.9 million viewers, according to numbers released by ESPN, making it the largest audience for Game 1 of a WCWS championship final. The Sooners’ win was up 43% from their Game 1 win over Florida State last year (1.34M) and 35% from their previous Game 1 against Texas in 2022 (1.41M).
Both of the 2024 WCWS Championship Series games are now among the top-10 most-watched college softball games of all time:
| Year | Matchup | Game | Viewership |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tennessee vs. Arizona | Game 3 of WCWS Champ Series | 2.33 million |
| 2015 | Michigan vs. Florida | Game 3 of WCWS Champ Series | 2.27 million |
| 2005 | Michigan vs. UCLA | Game 3 of WCWS Champ Series | 2.24 million |
| 2021 | Florida State vs. Oklahoma | Game 2 of WCWS Champ Series | 2.08 million |
| 2024 | Oklahoma vs. Texas | Game 2 of WCWS Champ Series | 2.036 million |
| 2015 | LSU vs. Michigan | WCWS Semifinal | 1.95 million |
| 2007 | Tennessee vs. Arizona | Game 2 of WCWS Champ Series | 1.92 million |
| 2024 | Texas vs. Oklahoma | Game 1 of WCWS Champ Series | 1.91 million |
| 2015 | Michigan vs. Florida | Game 2 of WCWS Champ Series | 1.87 million |
| 2023 | Florida State vs. Oklahoma | Game 2 of WCWS Champ Series | 1.86 million |
Overall, the 2024 Women’s College World Series averaged 1.1 million viewers with seven games reaching 1 million viewers. That number is slightly down from the 2023 WCWS (averaging 1.1 million viewers, eight games reaching 1 million) but up from 2022 (averaging 1.0 million viewers, eight games reaching 1 million).
According to SportsMediaWatch.com, the 2024 Super Regionals averaged 519,000 viewers per game across the ESPN networks, up 3% from 2023. Alabama’s 14-inning win over Tennessee in game two of the Knoxville Super Regional was seen by 1.08 million viewers on ESPN, the most-watched Super Regional game on record.
Game 3 of the Austin Super Regional, between Texas and Texas A&M, checked in as the most-watched Super Regional game to air on ESPN2, drawing 776,000 viewers. Game 3 of the Stanford Super Regional between LSU and Stanford narrowly followed that mark, with 771,000 viewers.