Women’s sports provide boost to networks
ESPN, ABC rewarded for giving Division I athletes more exposure
Odicci Alexander became an overnight sensation at the Women’s College World Series.
James Madison’s dynamic, endearingly humble pitcher was well known among die-hard softball fans, but she introduced herself to a national audience by throwing a complete game to help her unseeded squad stun tournament favorite Oklahoma in the opening game earlier this month. She threw another complete game the next day in a victory over Oklahoma State and a star was born.
As her team was being eliminated in the semifinals, Alexander drew a standing ovation when she left the field. Fans watching on TV and streaming devices were sorry to see her go — and so was ESPN, which has been broadcasting the WCWS since 2000.
Nick Dawson, ESPN’S vice president of programming for college sports, called her emergence and her battles with Oklahoma “the overarching story of the event,” and said she set the tone for a memorable week.
Coverage of Division I women’s sports has been in a particularly bright spotlight in 2021, and the record-setting WCWS was just the latest example of growing interest — and growing demands for a more equitable playing field when compared with men’s events.
ESPN’S has been experimenting in recent years with showing more women’s sports on its various platforms, and good numbers have led the network to become more aggressive. Television viewership was up significantly compared to 2019 in the four most popular women’s college sports — basketball, softball, gymnastics and volleyball. The network expanded its volleyball coverage this year to include every match of the championship on an ESPN platform. The Walt Disney Co. owns ABC and ESPN, and Dawson said ESPN is pushing to get more sports programming onto Saturday afternoon spots on ABC. This year, ABC broadcast women’s basketball games and a women’s softball game for the first time.
The women’s gymnastics final on ABC averaged 808,000 viewers, a 510 percent increase over the 2019 final on ESPNU.
The average number of viewers for the three softball championship final games between Oklahoma and Florida State was a record 1,840,000, up 15 percent over 2019.