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This would be much more useful if they split the two. It’s like top ten for NBA and WNBA! … wow seems like Las Vegas doesn’t support the Aces.
2025-2026 TV ratings
- Thread starter visitingcock
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This would be much more useful if they split the two. It’s like top ten for NBA and WNBA! … wow seems like Las Vegas doesn’t support the Aces.
The Nielsen-planted stories this season seem designed to mislead or obfuscate. The top 10 WBB viewership markets would be quite different than the top 10 MBB viewership markets, but the latter mostly swallows the former when you lump them together.
Last week Nielsen told us that the 10 "most watched" WBB teams of the season include Texas A&M at # 9, with UConn not in the top 10. Nielsen never defines "most watched" or hints that somehow most watched must equal average viewership. How else to explain Texas A&M ahead of UConn? UConn has 20+ Nielsen-rated games this season across a variety of networks, with more than 6,000,000 (perhaps > 7,000,000) total viewers. Texas A&M has 1 Nielsen-rated game this season (SEC Network games are not Nielsen-rated), with 411,000 viewers, but is somehow a "most watched" team. A stupid label that spawns misleading articles.
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Tournament championship week:
AMNew
3/5 USC-Washington BTN 67,000
3/5 Indiana-Ohio State BTN 75,000
3/5 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 154,000
3/5 Oregon-Maryland BTN 113,000
3/6 Clemson-Duke ESPN2 103,000
3/6 Loyola Chicago-Rhode Island USA 46,000
3/6 Washington-UCLA BTN 72,000
3/6 Kentucky-South Carolina ESPN 590,000
3/6 Kansas State-Oklahoma State ESPNU 33,000
3/6 Oklahoma-LSU ESPN 537,000
3/6 BYU-TCU ESPNU 12,000
3/6 Ohio State-Minnesota BTN 84,000
3/6 Syracuse-Louisville ESPN2 247,000
3/6 Dayton-George Mason USA 44,000
3/6 Illinois-Iowa BTN 286,000
3/6 La Salle-Richmond CNBC 21,000
3/6 Oregon-Michigan BTN 139,000
3/7 Notre Dame-Duke ESPN2 393,000
3/7 Ohio State-UCLA BTN 220,000
3/7 UNC-Louisville ESPN2 390,000
3/7 LSU-South Carolina ESPN2 936,000
3/7 Michigan-Iowa BTN 487,000
3/7 Miami Ohio-Ohio ESPNU 14,000
3/7 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 573,000
3/8 Samford-Chattanooga ESPNU 38,000
3/8 Louisville-Duke ESPN 898,000
3/8 Iowa-UCLA CBS 980,000*
3/8 Texas-South Carolina ESPN 1,256,000
3/8 George Mason-Rhode Island ESPN2 103,000
3/8 West Virginia-TCU ESPN 730,000
3/8 Radford-High Point ESPN2 149,000
AMNew
3/5 USC-Washington BTN 67,000
3/5 Indiana-Ohio State BTN 75,000
3/5 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 154,000
3/5 Oregon-Maryland BTN 113,000
3/6 Clemson-Duke ESPN2 103,000
3/6 Loyola Chicago-Rhode Island USA 46,000
3/6 Washington-UCLA BTN 72,000
3/6 Kentucky-South Carolina ESPN 590,000
3/6 Kansas State-Oklahoma State ESPNU 33,000
3/6 Oklahoma-LSU ESPN 537,000
3/6 BYU-TCU ESPNU 12,000
3/6 Ohio State-Minnesota BTN 84,000
3/6 Syracuse-Louisville ESPN2 247,000
3/6 Dayton-George Mason USA 44,000
3/6 Illinois-Iowa BTN 286,000
3/6 La Salle-Richmond CNBC 21,000
3/6 Oregon-Michigan BTN 139,000
3/7 Notre Dame-Duke ESPN2 393,000
3/7 Ohio State-UCLA BTN 220,000
3/7 UNC-Louisville ESPN2 390,000
3/7 LSU-South Carolina ESPN2 936,000
3/7 Michigan-Iowa BTN 487,000
3/7 Miami Ohio-Ohio ESPNU 14,000
3/7 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 573,000
3/8 Samford-Chattanooga ESPNU 38,000
3/8 Louisville-Duke ESPN 898,000
3/8 Iowa-UCLA CBS 980,000*
3/8 Texas-South Carolina ESPN 1,256,000
3/8 George Mason-Rhode Island ESPN2 103,000
3/8 West Virginia-TCU ESPN 730,000
3/8 Radford-High Point ESPN2 149,000
The odd Nielsen "most-watched" lists that seemingly rank by average, rather than total viewers, prompted me to compile this list. Public TV viewership data (TV Media Blog, ESPN PR, and Programming Insider) is not complete, so there are some holes in the list, but those are noted. For example, UConn has 21 games with publicly-available Nielsen viewership numbers, and 3 additional Nielsen-rated games for which there is no publicly-available viewership information. ESPN+, Peacock, ACC Network, SEC Network, Big Ten+ etc. are not Nielsen-rated, so viewership from those sources is not available.
My inputs mostly agree with the numbers posted above by visitingcock, except I have used the higher viewership count when both Nielsen "panel" and Nielsen "Big Data" numbers are available. This is a material difference. For example, the panel number for the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game is 730,000, but the Big Data number is 853,000. When ESPN touts its viewership increase versus past years, it may be mostly (or all) measurement changes. There are now 16 ESPN games with both panel and Big Data counts, and the average difference (increase) with the new Big Data method is 21%. The 2026 panel number is also likely 5% inflated from 2025 panel counts due to increased out-of-home measurement.
From my Big Ten perspective, UCLA and Michigan are laggards on this list (they also have the most missing Nielsen-rated games from public sources). They (along with Iowa) were the featured Big Ten TV teams this season, but they have not attracted the viewing public. When they are not playing a team with a large TV fan base, their numbers are low. Their averages for conference games on Big Ten Network and FS1 are relatively low.
Two million in aggregate viewers was my cutoff for this list:
My inputs mostly agree with the numbers posted above by visitingcock, except I have used the higher viewership count when both Nielsen "panel" and Nielsen "Big Data" numbers are available. This is a material difference. For example, the panel number for the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game is 730,000, but the Big Data number is 853,000. When ESPN touts its viewership increase versus past years, it may be mostly (or all) measurement changes. There are now 16 ESPN games with both panel and Big Data counts, and the average difference (increase) with the new Big Data method is 21%. The 2026 panel number is also likely 5% inflated from 2025 panel counts due to increased out-of-home measurement.
From my Big Ten perspective, UCLA and Michigan are laggards on this list (they also have the most missing Nielsen-rated games from public sources). They (along with Iowa) were the featured Big Ten TV teams this season, but they have not attracted the viewing public. When they are not playing a team with a large TV fan base, their numbers are low. Their averages for conference games on Big Ten Network and FS1 are relatively low.
Two million in aggregate viewers was my cutoff for this list:
Team | Pre-NCAA Total TV Viewers (from public data) | # Nielsen-Rated TV Games (w/ public data) | Networks | Missing Nielsen-Rated Games |
| S. Carolina | 11,330,000 | 17 | 2 ABC, 7 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 Fox, 2 Tru | None |
| Iowa | 7,629,000 | 18 | 10 BTN, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 1 CBS, 3 Fox, 2 FS1 | 2 |
| UConn | 6,710,000 | 21 | 3 Fox, 1 ESPN, 1 ESPN2, 9 FS1, 4 Tru, 3 Tru+TNT | 3 |
| LSU | 6,658,000 | 12 | 1 ABC, 7 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU | None |
| Texas | 6,583,000 | 11 | 2 ABC, 3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 Tru | 1 |
| Tenn. | 6,138,000 | 11 | 2 ABC, 2 Fox, 3 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1 | None |
| Louisville | 4,842,000 | 12 | 1 Fox, 5 ESPN, 5 ESPN2, 1 CW | 3 |
| Duke | 4,306,000 | 14 | 7 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 2 ESPNU, 2 Tru | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 3,681,000 | 9 | 1 ABC, 3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU, 1 FS1 | None |
| UCLA | 3,476,000 | 14 | 1 Fox, 1 CBS, 1 ESPN2, 5 BTN, 4 FS1, 2 Tru | 4 |
| Michigan | 2,993,000 | 13 | 2 Fox, 7 BTN, 4 FS1 | 4 |
| TCU | 2,902,000 | 9 | 6 ESPN, 2 FS1, 1 ESPNU | 1 |
| Iowa St. | 2,852,000 | 6 | 4 ESPN, 1 Fox, 1 FS1 | 2 |
| USC | 2,495,000 | 13 | 7 BTN, 3 ESPN, 1 Fox, 2 FS1 | 1 |
| UNC | 2,331,000 | 7 | 3 ESPN, 4 ESPN2 | 2 |
| NC St. | 2,193,000 | 10 | 4 ESPN, 4 ESPN2, 2 CW | None |
| Baylor | 2,088,000 | 8 | 5 ESPN, 2 ESPN2, 1 FS1 | 1 |
| Ole Miss | 2,065,000 | 6 | 2 ESPN, 3 ESPN2, 1 ESPNU | None |
| Notre Dame | 2,030,000 | 6 | 3 ESPN, 3 ESPN2 | 3 |
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Thank You!
I see FOX, FS1 and BTN for the Big Ten teams.
I see ABC (a few) ESPN and ESPN2 for the SEC but nothing for the SECN. Were the numbers for it and ACCN too insignificant to count?
UConn still strong despite little Network support with the Big East.
I’m surprised Vandy didn’t make the list for their five strong SEC-viewed games and Michigan.
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TV viewership information is asymmetric for the conference-specific networks. The Big Ten Network is Nielsen rated, but the SEC Network and the ACC Network are not. Not sure why ESPN/Disney have chosen not to use Nielsen for the ACC and SEC Networks, but it makes it hard to compare the conference-specific networks (although ESPN and ESPN2 are SEC-centric networks).
Vandy was close to 2,000,000 in overall viewership. I had them at 1,847,000 viewers for their 3 ESPN, 2 ESPN2 and 1 ESPNU games.
Viewership info was not released for their Monday holiday-day game against Michigan. Fox had 3 Monday holiday-day games (Vandy-Michigan, OSU-TCU, and Iowa-Nebraska), but viewership information was not released for any of those games. Altogether FOX had 15 WBB games, but only released viewership information for 8 games. Especially for the 4 weekend games for which FOX did not release viewership info, I suspect the numbers were disappointing.
NBC also didn't release viewership for its 2 WBB games.
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Conference Tournament week. Some big uns
Sunday at 12:08 AM
3/5 USC-Washington BTN 67,000
3/5 Indiana-Ohio State BTN 75,000
3/5 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 154,000
3/5 Oregon-Maryland BTN 113,000
3/6 Clemson-Duke ESPN2 103,000
3/6 Loyola Chicago-Rhode Island USA 46,000
3/6 Washington-UCLA BTN 72,000
3/6 Kentucky-South Carolina ESPN 590,000
3/6 Kansas State-Oklahoma State ESPNU 33,000
3/6 Oklahoma-LSU ESPN 537,000
3/6 BYU-TCU ESPNU 12,000
3/6 Ohio State-Minnesota BTN 84,000
3/6 Syracuse-Louisville ESPN2 247,000
3/6 Dayton-George Mason USA 44,000
3/6 Illinois-Iowa BTN 286,000
3/6 La Salle-Richmond CNBC 21,000
3/6 Oregon-Michigan BTN 139,000
3/7 Notre Dame-Duke ESPN2 393,000
3/7 Ohio State-UCLA BTN 220,000
3/7 UNC-Louisville ESPN2 390,000
3/7 LSU-South Carolina ESPN2 936,000
3/7 Michigan-Iowa BTN 487,000
3/7 Miami Ohio-Ohio ESPNU 14,000
3/7 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 573,000
3/8 Samford-Chattanooga ESPNU 38,000
3/8 Louisville-Duke ESPN 898,000
3/8 Iowa-UCLA CBS 980,000*
3/8 Texas-South Carolina ESPN 1,256,000
3/8 George Mason-Rhode Island ESPN2 103,000
3/8 West Virginia-TCU ESPN 730,000i
3/8 Radford-High Point ESPN2 149,000
Sunday at 12:08 AM
3/5 USC-Washington BTN 67,000
3/5 Indiana-Ohio State BTN 75,000
3/5 Illinois-Michigan State BTN 154,000
3/5 Oregon-Maryland BTN 113,000
3/6 Clemson-Duke ESPN2 103,000
3/6 Loyola Chicago-Rhode Island USA 46,000
3/6 Washington-UCLA BTN 72,000
3/6 Kentucky-South Carolina ESPN 590,000
3/6 Kansas State-Oklahoma State ESPNU 33,000
3/6 Oklahoma-LSU ESPN 537,000
3/6 BYU-TCU ESPNU 12,000
3/6 Ohio State-Minnesota BTN 84,000
3/6 Syracuse-Louisville ESPN2 247,000
3/6 Dayton-George Mason USA 44,000
3/6 Illinois-Iowa BTN 286,000
3/6 La Salle-Richmond CNBC 21,000
3/6 Oregon-Michigan BTN 139,000
3/7 Notre Dame-Duke ESPN2 393,000
3/7 Ohio State-UCLA BTN 220,000
3/7 UNC-Louisville ESPN2 390,000
3/7 LSU-South Carolina ESPN2 936,000
3/7 Michigan-Iowa BTN 487,000
3/7 Miami Ohio-Ohio ESPNU 14,000
3/7 Ole Miss-Texas ESPN2 573,000
3/8 Samford-Chattanooga ESPNU 38,000
3/8 Louisville-Duke ESPN 898,000
3/8 Iowa-UCLA CBS 980,000*
3/8 Texas-South Carolina ESPN 1,256,000
3/8 George Mason-Rhode Island ESPN2 103,000
3/8 West Virginia-TCU ESPN 730,000i
3/8 Radford-High Point ESPN2 149,000
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