Men’s College World Series is most-watched ever on ESPN networks

This month’s Men’s College World Series shattered viewership records for ESPN.

Per a release from the company, the 16-game tournament averaged 1.65 million viewers on ESPN’s networks, a 48 percent increase from last season and a record for ESPN’s platforms.

Unsurprisingly, viewership peaked for LSU’s three-game championship series victory over Florida. The three games averaged a record 2.86 million viewers, topping the previous record (LSU-Texas in 2009 averaged 2.76 million viewers). Games 1 and 3 were also the most-watched of their respective placement in the series, while Game 2 was the second most-watched Game 2 on ESPN platforms.

Game 1, a 4-3 LSU win, averaged 2.745 million viewers on Saturday night. After a drop to 2.248 million viewers for Florida’s 22-4 win in Game 2 on Sunday, Monday’s deciding Game 3 (an 18-4 LSU win) spiked to 3.586 million viewers. That’s a record for any Men’s College World Series game on ESPN’s platforms. The previous high came for the aforementioned 2009 series, when Game 3 averaged 3.16 million viewers.

Incredibly, Games 1 and 3 have also drawn larger audiences than every MLB game through the first three months of the regular season. Per Sports Media Watch, the only baseball game with a larger audience in 2023 is March’s World Baseball Classic championship between Japan and the US.

We’ve talked about the NCAA splitting the Women’s Basketball Tournament away from its championship package, and maybe it should consider paring off the Men’s and Women’s College World Series as well. Both tournaments delivered strong viewership this season, and could receive plenty of interest on the open market if they weren’t part of the larger championship package.

[ESPN, Sports Media Watch]