{"id":479431,"date":"2026-06-26T17:01:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:01:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:01:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:01:26","slug":"espn-sees-24-rise-in-mcws-viewership-third-most-on-record","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/fieldlevelmedia.com\/ncaa-bbl\/espn-sees-24-rise-in-mcws-viewership-third-most-on-record\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN sees 24% rise in MCWS viewership, third most on record"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESPN’s coverage of the 2026 College World Series earned the third-highest viewership in CWS annals, the network announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma’s 13-2 Game 3 win over North Carolina on Monday night to claim the championship averaged 2.5 million viewers and peaked at 3 million. It was the most-watched college baseball game of the season. Game 2 drew 2.3 million viewers on average.<\/p>\n

Overall, 2026 NCAA baseball tournament games averaged 1.5 million viewers, an increase of 24% over the 2025 event.<\/p>\n

Last year, an average of 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the championship series that saw LSU defeat Coastal Carolina in two games.<\/p>\n

Prior to the finals, the CWS drew 1.4 million average viewers for a 34% year-over-year increase. The most-viewed contest was North Carolina’s June 14 victory over West Virginia, with 2 million viewers in prime time. It was the only game before the championship series to reach 2 million viewers.<\/p>\n

Other notable average viewership marks:<\/p>\n

Georgia’s win over Texas on June 16: 1.8 million<\/p>\n

Oklahoma’s win over Georgia on June 17 that clinched a spot in the finals: 1.7 million<\/p>\n

Oklahoma’s win vs. Georgia on June 15: 1.64 million<\/p>\n

North Carolina’s win over Ole Miss on June 12: 1.45 million<\/p>\n

Troy’s win over Ole Miss on June 14: 1. 4 million<\/p>\n

The Regional round saw a 38% increase in viewership year over year, while the Super Regionals grew 31% year over year to mark their highest viewership since 2009.<\/p>\n

–Field Level Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ESPN’s coverage of the 2026 College World Series earned the third-highest viewership in CWS annals, the network announced Thursday. 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