The Big Lead

NCAA women's volleyball ratings are becoming serious business

By J.P. Hoornstra

Kansas celebrates a point during the second round of the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas celebrates a point during the second round of the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Lawrence, Kan. / Jesse Bruner/Special to The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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In a recent interview with The Varsity podcast with Puck's John Ourand, former TNT Sports executive David Levy was asked to rattle off a short list of up-and-coming sports poised to make a dent in the media landscape. Among his picks: women's volleyball.

While hardly a new sport to American viewing audiences, "women's volleyball" and "big ratings" aren't often mentioned in the same breath. Yet Levy's prediction already appears anything but premature.

ESPN reported Tuesday that its coverage of the just-completed NCAA regionals were the most-watched on record. Highlights include:

• 401,000 average viewers, up 98 percent year-over-year
• The five most-watched regional matches ever
• Growth in the 18-34 demographic (a 232 percent increase), the 2-17 demographic (a 115 percent increase) and women (a 112 percent increase)
• Viewership of NCAA women's volleyball coverage is up 44 percent year-over-year on ESPN+.

For perspective, the Wisconsin-Nebrasks regional final on ABC drew 798,000 viewers — not far off from Thursday's women's college basketball game between UConn and Notre Dame, which averaged 847,000 to become the most-watched game of the season so far, according to Sports Media Watch.

Compare those numbers to the MLS Cup game between The Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls on Fox and Fox Deportes, which averaged 468,000 viewers across the two networks, according to the same report.

Women's sports have clearly supplanted professional soccer as the next big thing in the United States. Specifically, women's volleyball appears to be catching up to women's basketball in popularity faster than many sports media observers might have anticipated.

Thursday will see two NCAA national semifinal games — Louisville and Pitt in one match, Nebraska and Penn State in the other — both on ESPN.

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