BTN Communications, March 7, 2023
For the second consecutive season, Big Ten regular season women's basketball and the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Presented by TIAA were the most-watched in Big Ten Network history. BTN's Big Ten Women's basketball tournament was up +25% year-over-year, averaging 150,000 viewers per game, while the regular season was up +19% year-over-year.
Additionally, Saturday's tournament semifinal featuring Iowa vs. Maryland delivered 380,000 viewers, making it the most-watched game in network history. That topped the previous record set in February, when Iowa vs. Indiana earned an audience of 325,000.
Three of the top five women's basketball tournament games in network history came this season, while four of the five most-watched regular season games took place this season. On B1G+, nine of the top 10 women's basketball average-minute-audiences in B1G+ history took place this season, including the entire top 5.
Big Ten Network's Top Five Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Games:
Date | Matchup | Viewership |
3/4/2023 | Iowa vs. Maryland | 380,000 |
3/5/2022 | Iowa vs. Nebraska | 286,000 |
3/4/2022 | Michigan vs. Nebraska | 238,000 |
3/3/2023 | Iowa vs. Purdue | 236,000 |
3/4/2023 | Indiana vs. Ohio State | 222,000 |
Big Ten Network's Top Five Big Ten Women's Basketball Regular Season Games:
Date | Matchup | Viewership |
2/9/2023 | Iowa vs. Indiana | 325,000 |
2/16/2023 | Michigan vs. Indiana | 169,000 |
1/31/2022 | Ohio State vs. Indiana | 164,000 |
2/18/2023 | Iowa vs. Nebraska | 158,000 |
2/21/2023 | Iowa vs. Maryland | 151,000 |
Big Ten basketball coverage continues this week, with the first 10 games of the 2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament presented by TIAA airing on the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports app.