Viewers of Sunday’s game two in the softball series between Alabama and Florida were forced to scramble for their remotes in the midst of the last portion of the game, when the debut of the “KayRod” alternate broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball forced softball to relocate on a new channel at the last minute.
Sunday’s Crimson Tide/Gators matchup was watched by 322,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed softball telecast on ESPN2 this season to-date.
Interestingly, the game had more viewers than the “KayRod” first-ever broadcast, which checked in with 264,000 viewers on Sunday. “KayRod” features Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay in a ManningCast-style broadcast for the weekly Sunday Night Baseball game.
A crowd also tuned into Alabama’s win over Florida one day earlier, on Saturday, as the series opener between the two teams brought in 316,000 viewers. That viewership number beat out the NBA TV telecast of the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as ESPN’s Major League Soccer game between Inter Miami and New England. Those broadcasts drew 249,000 and 252,000 watchers, respectively.
The weekend’s pair of games between the Crimson Tide and the Gators saw significant rises in viewership from the comparable weekend during the 2021 season, and both Sunday and Saturday are now among the top 3 most-watched games to-date during the 2022 regular season. The only game that drew a larger television crowd was the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational tournament finale between UCLA and Florida State in mid-February.
Elsewhere on the televised college softball scene last weekend, Tennessee/Georgia drew 170,000 viewers on ESPN2 on Sunday afternoon, while Arizona State/Oregon brought in 220,000 viewers on Friday night. The Sun Devils’ win in Eugene was the top program on ESPN2 on Friday.
This week, ESPN will debut a new Thursday Night Throwdown featured game series. Thursday’s inaugural Throwdown game will spotlight the series opener between Oregon and Arizona in Tucson. The broadcast is expected to feature Jessica Mendoza’s season debut in the softball booth.
