Despite facing competition from the NFL, the NCAA women’s volleyball final soared to a new high in viewership in its debut on ABC.
Sunday’s Texas-Nebraska NCAA women’s volleyball national championship averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.69 million viewers on ABC, surpassing the regional window on FOX in October (1.66 million) to rank as the largest recorded audience for women’s college volleyball. Keep in mind that the October window had a direct introduction from the NFL, which helped ease the NFL competition.
The Longhorns’ win surpassed the previous record for a national championship game, the $1.20 million Nebraska-Wisconsin win on ESPN2 two years ago.
Compared to last year’s game — Texas-Louisville in the Saturday night window on ESPN2 — ratings jumped 95% and viewership jumped 115% from a 0.39 and 786,000. In the same Sunday afternoon window last year, ABC averaged 381,000 for a regular-season women’s basketball game between Tennessee and Stanford.
The NCAA women’s volleyball final ranks fifth among major college tournaments over the past year, trailing the national title games of FBS football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball, although it’s worth noting that none of the other tournament events did Facing NFL competition.