ESPN highlights 2025 viewership numbers during most-watched college volleyball season ever

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The 2025 women’s volleyball season set numerous records on ESPN networks this season.

The NCAA Tournament was the most-watched ever, with more than 1.3 billion minutes watched across ESPN platforms.

According to ESPN, the entire NCAA Tournament finished up 13% year over year, averaging 666,000 viewers across 15 matches, and featured the most-watched Regionals on record.

The tournament also featured a record-high four matches that averaged at least one million viewers.

ESPN said the National Championship between Texas A&M and Kentucky saw 1.4 million viewers tune in, making it the second most-watched title bout on record and the third most-watched college volleyball match ever.

According to the network, the championship game peaked at 1.7 million viewers.

The tournament experienced massive growth among adults aged 25-34, with viewership spiking 83% year over year, and among people aged 2-17, which jumped 40% from 2024.

During this year’s championship run, women accounted for 45% of the audience, up from the prior year.

Courtesy ESPN

A breakdown of viewership numbers for the entire season is shown below:

REGULAR SEASON

ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 combined to air a record 33 women’s college volleyball matches during the 2025 season.

This resulted in ESPN’s most-watched women’s college volleyball season ever, averaging 190,000 viewers and finishing up 36% year over year.

According to the network, gains include people aged 18-34 (+59%) and women (+41%).

This season, ESPN aired three of its five most-watched telecasts ever, including its largest regular-season audience for Nebraska-Kentucky (1.2 million viewers | Aug. 31 on ABC).

The AVCA First Serve Showcase also delivered ESPN’s top two regular-season matches on Aug. 24.

Stanford-Nebraska drew 596,000 viewers, while Florida-Pitt raked in 525,000 viewers.

FIRST & SECOND ROUND

ESPN+ engagement increased 33% over 2024 during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

‘The Fifth Set’ whip-around coverage averaged 183,000 viewers across its ESPN2 telecasts, up 60% year over year.

REGIONAL ROUND

The NCAA Women’s Volleyball Regional round averaged 530,000 viewers, up 32% year over year and the highest average in its history.

The round also featured four of the six most-watched Regional matches ever.

The Regionals saw massive demo growth among people aged 25-34 (+147%), people aged 2-17 (+89%) and women (+39%).

The top match of the Regional round was the thrilling five-setter between Texas A&M and Nebraska, which averaged 1.2 million viewers and peaked at 1.6 million, making it the most-watched NCAA Regional ever.

Other top matches included:

• Kansas vs. Nebraska on ESPN2 (Regional Semifinal | 718,000 viewers)
• Texas A&M vs. Louisville on ESPN2 (Regional Semifinal | 674,000 viewers)
• Wisconsin vs. Texas on ESPN (Regional Final | 663,000 viewers)
• Purdue vs. Pittsburgh on ESPN2 (Regional Final | 468,000 viewers)

The Regional Finals saw its best performance on record, averaging 753,000 viewers (+27%) across the two days.

The Regional Semifinals boasted 29% growth from 2024, averaging 402,000 viewers on ESPN/ESPN2 – also registering the best average for this round on record.

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS

The NCAA Women’s Volleyball National Semifinals averaged 1.1 million viewers across both matches.

Each match hit one million viewers for a third consecutive year.

The second semifinal between Wisconsin and Kentucky led the way with 1.1 million viewers, peaking with 1.2 million.

That marks the second most-watched semifinal on record.

The Texas A&M-Pittsburgh semifinal averaged 1.0 million viewers and peaked at 1.2 million, ranking as the fifth-most-watched semifinal on record.