The world of collegiate softball has experienced incredible growth over the last decade. Especially during Oklahoma’s national championship three-peat, the growth of the sport has exploded.
The energy, the fast paced nature, and the intriguing storylines of the game have turned it into must-see television in recent years. And it looks like the television numbers bear that out.
Even though the championship series wasn’t drawn out, the social media impressions and viewership numbers were quite impressive. Game 1 of the series boasted 1.3 million viewers with a peak at 1.5 million. While Game 2 had 1.9 million viewers with a peak of 2.3 million with an average viewership for the championship series at 1.6 million viewers. The viewership for the series was up seven percent year-over-year. – Alex Sinatra, College Sports Wire
The Women’s College World Series experienced a 7% increase from the 2022 viewership. Additionally, the Women’s College World Series generated an incredible buzz on social media.
The social media numbers were impressive as well with the series garnering almost one hundred million impressions in just two days, according to Zoomph. – Sinatra, College Sports Wire
NCAA softball, ESPN, and the team’s social media departments have done a great job marketing the sport over the last few years, highlighting the incredible athletes they have at the collegiate level.
3rd straight @NCAASoftball title. 53rd straight win. @OU_Softball can't be stopped.
Oklahoma Softball made quick work of the #WCWS Championship, but in just two days Twitter conversation around the series still generated 26K+ Tweets and almost 100M impressions. pic.twitter.com/aWs4h4SqgE
— Zoomph (@Zoomph) June 9, 2023
Women’s athletics has seen a landmark year with the impressive numbers created by women’s gymnastics, basketball, and now softball. It’s a credit to the sports and to the universities and networks for investing in and providing exposure to these incredible athletes.
In softball, the Oklahoma Sooners have created a number of storylines that will keep the sport buzzing heading into the 2024 season. How far can they take their record win streak? Can they be the first team to ever win four-straight national championships? What will they look like after losing Jordy Bahl? Can anyone in softball dethrone the Sooners?
2023 was an incredible season filled with incredible stories, but 2024 will be another thrilling installment in the story of college softball.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=683578888]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.