If you hear muffled sobs coming from a man’s cave, or slurred murmurs from a man who is usually exhaling misogyny, give some thoughts and prayers.
Tuesday was a tough day for “Nobody Cares About Women’s Sports!” crowd.
Within an hour, it was announced that the title game of women’s college basketball would air on ABC and the NWSL championship would air on CBS in prime time. That is correct. A national showcase of her two biggest events in women’s sport, with no cable or streaming subscription required.
“This is a historic announcement for our league and the sport,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
And the long-awaited one. Not out of charity or pity, but because a female athlete earned it.
Advocates have long argued that there is a market in women’s sport, contrary to what naysayers would have you believe.
Evaluations over the last few years prove this to be true.
National Championships Featuring South Carolina and UConn It was ESPN’s most-watched college basketball game since 2008.4.85 million viewers, an 18% increase over the 2021 Championship Game and a 30% increase from 2019.
The Women’s College World Series averaged 1.1 million viewers, surpassing 1 million viewers for the third consecutive year. The average number of viewers for the championship series is her 1.6 million. It was set after the Women’s College World Series and the College Cup, soccer’s national championship. Last season’s viewership record.
The WNBA Thursday afternoon Playoff viewership up 39% from last year So far, Sunday’s game between the Dallas Wings and the Connecticut Sun is the most-watched playoff game in 15 years.
This builds on last year’s 49% increase in league viewership across all networks, after a 16% increase during the regular season. The regular season finale between the Seattle Storm and the Las Vegas Aces, a sneak peek into his one matchup in the playoff semifinals, was the most-watched WNBA game in 14 years and peak viewership. reached his 1.1 million.
NWSL national television games are rare. Expect things to change when his three-year deal in the league expires next year. This includes his 456,000 in preseason games between San Diego Wave and Angel City FC, both expansion teams.
Last year’s NWSL title game drew 525,000 viewers despite starting at noon in the East.
Oh, and Fox announced last week that its main network will air a friendly match against England on 7 October. It became the most-watched TV show in the UK so far this year.
“I was told, ‘Oh, that’s not rated, Carol. No eyeballs.'” And I said, “I won’t rate it because no one can see it!” Carol Stiff, who oversaw women’s sports programming on ESPN before her retirement last summer, told USA TODAY Sports earlier this year.
“I keep using the phrase: ‘If you build it, they’ll come,'” Stiff said.
Sports on TV:Why women’s sports could benefit financially in future TV deals
opinion:‘It’s all changing:’ Women’s sports are now paying people to invest
Sports newsletter:Get the latest news and analysis in your inbox
The men (mostly only men) who are now committed to ruining women’s sports know that even with improved viewership, women’s sports audiences still don’t compare to male sports audiences. will point out. And it’s mostly true.
But it’s also like celebrating winning the 100m by 60m.
Title IX celebrated its 50th anniversary this summer, and ten years after the landmark legislation was passed, the NCAA hosted its first women’s basketball tournament. The WNBA is her 26th season and the NWSL is her 10th season. Of course, it won’t be where it is today, where the NFL, NBA and NCAA men’s tournaments have been going on for over 75 years.
Those leagues, too, weren’t where they are now early on. It wasn’t until the NFL merger that every team had every game televised. It was not until 1968 that the network showed serious interest in broadcasting his NCAA men’s tournament. NBA games were still shown on tape delay well into the 1980s.
The potential in women’s sport is immense, and Tuesday’s announcement reflects that. Even if someone said otherwise, it’s their reflection.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armor on Twitter @nrarmour.
Comments
Post a Comment