Women’s Final Four Viewership Projection: Will 2026 Numbers Rise?

By Christopher Boan

Apr 2nd, 2026 12:07 PM EDT

The 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four is in Phoenix. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

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The four best teams in women’s college basketball square off Friday inside Phoenix’s Mortgage Matchup Center. They will play in front of 20,000 screaming fans, plus millions will watch across the country.

Women’s basketball has exploded in popularity, both at the college and WNBA level, nationally and internationally. That includes growth in college basketball betting. So it’s easy to guess that this year’s Women’s Final Four will score huge television numbers.

We at Bookies.com broke down average TV viewership of each Women’s Final Four this century, then created our 2026 Women’s Final Four viewership projection.

This research comes from Bookies.com, where real money sportsbook promotions are available.

What’s Ahead For Friday’s Semifinals

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma looks to add a 13th title to his Hall of Fame resume. But in Friday’s national semifinals, he and the undefeated Huskies (38-0) face another legend of the game, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks (35-3) seek their fourth national title since 2017.

UCLA (35-1) is having a historic season under head coach Cori Close, reaching the National Semifinal for the second straight season. But so has their opponent on Friday, the Texas Longhorns (35-3), the only team to defeat UCLA this season. Texas won that meeting, 76-65, on Nov. 26.

The No. 1 seeds won all four regions in the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, which makes for tantalizing TV viewing. At Caesars Sportsbook, UConn is a heavy favorite at -190 odds to win the national title, followed by Texas (+525), UCLA (+550) and South Carolina (+650).

How We Got Our 2026 Women’s Final Four Projection

Since 2000, the highest average Women’s Final Four television viewership figure was in 2024, when 14.426 million people watch Auriemma’s Huskies take on Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Another 7.173 million tuned into the nightcap between Staley’s Gamecocks and the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

That average viewership figure of 10.4 million between those contests shattered the previous mark of 4.5 million, which was set the year before. The previous high of 3.8 million was set in 2004.

Between 2000 and 2025, the average viewership for the two women’s national semifinals is 3.06 million. Each of the Final Fours since 2023 have cleared that number with ease.

Friday’s Women’s Final Four semifinals will draw plenty of interest at sports betting apps as well as TV viewers.

UConn-South Carolina A Prime Matchup

The showdown between two of the greats in women’s basketball, UConn and South Carolina, tips off Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Having UConn in the Final Four is always good for juicing viewership numbers. The Huskies have averaged just over 3.5 million viewers across the team’s 21 National Semifinal berths since 2000.

But the Gamecocks are no slouch for drawing viewers. Staley’s team has averaged around 3.4 million viewers in each of the team’s six Final Four semifinal contests dating to 2015.

Those two teams should bring a large audience Friday evening when they meet in Phoenix. At BetMGM Sportsbook, UConn is a 6.5-point favorite as of noon Eastern on April 2. As always, lines are subject to move and prices can differ with various operators, so shop around if you can.

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Projections For Opening Game Viewership

Given the national brands involved and the start time, we’re giving South Carolina-UConn the biggest audience projection, from 4.5 to 6 million viewers. That would fall between the 7.173 million the Gamecocks drew in 2024 and the 5.632 million they got in 2023.

For the Huskies, drawing that many viewers would fall in line with numbers outside of the Caitlin Clark Effect year of 2024 (14.426 million for that game). In UConn’s other 20 Final Fours since 2000, games ranged from 1.932 million viewers that year to 4.621 million in 2004.

That 2004 was higher than last year’s 4.2 million viewership number for the Huskies’ 85-51 rout of UCLA in Tampa. South Carolina’s highest audience total was 7.173 million, in last season’s 74-57 victory over the Longhorns.

South Carolina Final Four semifinal viewership numbers

• 2024: 3.7M
• 2024: 7.173M
• 2023: 5.632M
• 2022: 2.160M
• 2021: 1.695M
• 2017: 1.497M
• 2015: 2.024M

UConn Final Four semifinal viewership numbers

• 2025: 4.2M
• 2024: 14.426M
• 2022: 3.230M
• 2021: 2.715M
• 2019: 2.139M
• 2018: 2.280M
• 2017: 2.783M
• 2016: 2.308M
• 2015: 2.395M
• 2014: 2.312M
• 2013: 3.034M
• 2012: 2.943M
• 2011: 3.273M
• 2010: 3.531M
• 2009: 2.664M
• 2008: 2.809M
• 2004: 4.621M
• 2003: 3.918M
• 2002: 3.192M
• 2001: 2.947M
• 2000: 1.932M

A close game would boost ratings and that is what FanDuel Sportsbook expects. UConn is at -325 moneyline, compared with +265 for the Gamecocks.

What About Friday’s Nightcap?

At about 9:30 p.m. Eastern, the showdown between Lauren Betts of the Bruins and Madison Booker of the Longhorns is expected to draw more viewers than the UT-South Carolina nightcap a year ago.

Our projections show Texas-UCLA getting anywhere from 3.5M to 5M viewers. ESPN reported 3.6 million total for last year’s second Final Four contest.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Longhorns as a slight Women’s Final Four betting favorite, with a -135 moneyline on UT, compared with the +114 odds on the Bruins.

If both games are neck-and-neck in downtown Phoenix, people will tune in and stay tuned in. Given the quality of the four teams and even matchups (on paper), we should get all that and more. That would add to the momentum that women’s collegiate and professional sports have experienced in recent years.

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