NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Viewership and Ratings Up by Double Digits on ESPN2 and ESPN

March 27, 2008 -- Leading into the “Sweet Sixteen” this weekend, ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament has garnered double-digit increases in both viewership and ratings on ESPN2 and ESPN during the first two rounds (48 games within 13 telecast windows March 22 – 25), according to Nielsen Media Research. With games primarily shown on ESPN2 (12 windows), that network saw a 29 percent household jump over last year (546,000 vs. 423,000), based on a 20% ratings increase (0.6 vs. 0.5), while ESPN’s viewership is up 40 percent among households (482,000 vs. 344,000), based on a ratings increase of 25 percent (0.5 rating, compared to last year’s 0.4).

Also, consumption of NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament content on ESPN.com has also seen growth, with an increase of 27% in page views and 19% in visits versus the same period last year.

Regional Semifinals television schedule below. All games also available on ESPN360.com.

Date Time (ET) Game Network

Sat., March 29 12 p.m. #4 Louisville vs. #1 North Carolina (New Orleans)
Eric Collins, Carolyn Peck and Beth Mowins ESPNHD /ESPN
2 p.m. #3 Oklahoma State vs. #2 LSU (New Orleans)
Collins, Peck and Mowins ESPNHD /ESPN
9 p.m. #4 Vanderbilt vs. #1 Maryland (Spokane)
Dave Pasch, Deb Antonelli and Heather Cox ESPNHD /ESPN
11:30 p.m. #6 Pittsburgh vs. #2 Stanford (Spokane)
Pasch, Antonelli and Cox ESPN2HD /ESPN2
Sun., March 30 12 p.m. #5 Old Dominion vs. #1 Connecticut (Greensboro)
Mike Patrick, Doris Burke and Rebecca Lobo ESPNHD /ESPN
2::30 p.m. #6 George Washington vs. #2 Rutgers (Greensboro)
Patrick, Burke and Lobo ESPN2HD /ESPN2
7 p.m. #3 Duke vs. #2 Texas A&M (Oklahoma City)
Pam Ward, Nancy Lieberman and Holly Rowe ESPN2HD /ESPN2
9 p.m. #5 Notre Dame vs. #1 Tennessee (Oklahoma City)
Ward, Lieberman and Rowe ESPN2HD /ESPN2

Source: ESPN

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