Highest Overnight Rating for Women's College Basketball Game Since 2004

Hartford/New Haven Top Market with 29.3 Rating

Most-Viewed Women's Event on WatchESPN and Largest Audience for ESPN3 Surround Production

ESPN's telecast of Connecticut's 79-58 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA Women's National Championship on April 8 averaged a 3.1 metered market rating, making it the highest overnight rating for a women's basketball game since 2004. The matchup between the undefeated power programs is also the fourth highest-rated NCAA Women's National Championship on ESPN on record (beginning 2000).

Fans also turned to ESPN's digital platforms, with WatchESPN's traditional telecast and the special ESPN3 Surround production of the matchup totaling 3,800,000 minutes, the highest amount for a women's college basketball game on the platform this year. The game also generated the most minutes viewed for an ESPN3 Surround production to date.

Hartford/New Haven led all markets for the telecast with a 29.3 rating, making it the market's highest overnight for a program on cable in 2014. Nashville was the second highest-rated market with a 6.8 followed by Knoxville (6.0), Louisville (5.5), Indianapolis (4.8), Raleigh-Durham (4.7), Providence (4.6), New York (4.6), Memphis (4.5) and Greenville (4.5).

Best Women's College Basketball Rating in a Decade for UConn-Notre Dame

Rating up 40% from 2013; Fourth Largest Audience for the Event in 19 Years on ESPN

Most-Viewed Women's Event on WatchESPN and Largest Audience for ESPN3 Surround Production

Monday night's victory by the University of Connecticut over University of Notre Dame in the NCAA Women's National Championship earned a 2.8 US rating, the highest for any ESPN women's college basketball game in a decade. The rating for the unprecedented title game battle of unbeatens - a 79-58 victory for UConn's record ninth national championship - is the highest for the sport since Connecticut's victory over Tennessee for the 2004 title earned a 3.5.

The highly anticipated matchup averaged 3.21 million households and 4.27 viewers (P2+) - fourth and sixth best, respectively, since ESPN began televising the women's championship in 1996. In addition, the 2.8 rating represents an increase of 40 percent over a 2.0 a year ago for UConn over Louisville.

In addition, nearly 100,000 fans turned to WatchESPN for the traditional telecast and the special ESPN3 Surround production of the matchup. Those 100,000 thousand fans generated 3,800,000 minutes on the game, both all-time highs for a women's college basketball game. Additionally, the game generated the most minutes viewed for an ESPN3 Surround production to date.

Among the metered markets, Hartford/New Haven led the way with a 29.3 rating, making it the market's highest overnight for a program on cable in 2014. Nashville was the second highest-rated market with a 6.8 followed by Knoxville (6.0), Louisville (5.5), Indianapolis (4.8), Raleigh-Durham (4.7), Providence (4.6), New York (4.6), Memphis (4.5) and Greenville (4.5).