USWNT 2023 TV ratings best since 2019
The USWNT TV ratings in 2023 were the best since 2019.
In 2023, the USWNT’s TV ratings averaged 1,560,929 viewers per game for 14 games where viewing figures were available. That is a whopping 330% increase over 2022’s average of 362,692 viewers per game.
Here are the TV ratings for the USWNT games in 2023. Both English and Spanish viewership (when possible) are included.
| Date | Competition | Opponent | English | Spanish | Total |
| January 17 | Friendly | New Zealand | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| January 20 | Friendly | New Zealand | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| February 16 | She Believes Cup | Canada | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| February 19 | She Believes Cup | Japan | 373,000 | N/A | 373,000 |
| February 22 | She Believes Cup | Brazil | 454,000 | N/A | 454,000 |
| April 8 | Friendly | Ireland | 346,000 | N/A | 346,000 |
| April 11 | Friendly | Ireland | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| July 9 | Friendly | Wales | 662,000 | 274,000 | 936,000 |
| July 21 | Women’s World Cup | Vietnam | 5,263,000 | 810,000 | 6,073,000 |
| July 26 | Women’s World Cup | Netherlands | 6,430,000 | 1,165,000 | 7,595,000 |
| July 31 | Women’s World Cup | Portugal | 1,350,000 | N/A | 1,350,000 |
| August 6 | Women’s World Cup | Sweden | 2,528,000 | N/A | 2,528,000 |
| September 21 | Friendly | South Africa | 249,000 | N/A | 249,000 |
| September 24 | Friendly | South Africa | 344,000 | N/A | 344,000 |
| October 26 | Friendly | Colombia | 274,000 | N/A | 274,000 |
| October 29 | Friendly | Colombia | 235,000 | 439,000 | 674,000 |
| December 2 | Friendly | China | 276,000 | 210,000 | 486,000 |
| December 5 | Friendly | China | 171,000 | N/A | 171,000 |
Women’s World Cup leads to English language boost
The English language USWNT TV ratings got a huge boost in 2023 due to the Women’s World Cup. The English language average this year was 1,353,929, which is up 273% from last year’s English language numbers.
Unfortunately, the English numbers this year were lower than the last two Women’s World Cup years in both 2019 (1,996,917) and 2015 (2,523,200). There are two contributing factors to this. First, the USWNT had their worst-ever showing at a Women’s World Cup, falling in the Round of 16. That means they only had four games while in each of the last two Women’s World Cups they played seven games. The second factor is the massive time difference between the US and the location of the tournament (2015 was in Canada and 2019 was in France but 2023 was in Australia/New Zealand).
Breaking down the Spanish TV ratings for USWNT in 2023
It’s going to be difficult to draw any conclusions from the Spanish language USWNT TV ratings. On one hand, there are only five available viewing figures despite the USWNT having played 18 games. On the other hand, the five available viewing figures are the most available Spanish language viewing figures for the USWNT since 2019 when twelve of them were available. Since then, only six total have been available until this year (three in 2020, three in 2021, and none in 2022).
Deal with Turner a mixed bag
This year was the first year of US Soccer’s deal with Turner. The USMNT averaged 380,300 per game over 10 games that aired on linear TV.
The numbers for the USWNT on Turner resembled those of the men’s national team. The USWNT average for 10 games on linear TV was 338,400 viewers per game.
Additionally, four of the USWNT’s 18 games were not even aired on a regular TV channel. Instead, they were streamed on HBO Max (now just called Max) meaning that viewership numbers are not available.
The numbers for these games may not be great but, per a release from Turner Sports, are up over comparable games on other networks in 2022.
Next four years represents huge opportunity for USWNT
There will be high-level soccer galore in the United States over the next several years. For the USWNT there is already a certainty of hosting the Olympics in 2028 in LA. But US Soccer has also announced a bid to co-host the 2027 Women’s World Cup with Mexico. Back-to-back years of high stakes games on home soil would be a massive boost to the TV ratings for the USWNT, given the lack of time zone issues.
As was the case in 1999, the sky could be the limit for the growth of the team and sport.
PHOTOS: IMAGO