Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reacts to rising viewership of women's sports with NWSL clocking more than twice the numbers of MLS

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, reacted to the rising viewership of women's sports as the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Championship recorded more than twice the viewership numbers of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup.

The NWSL final saw champions Orlando Pride register a 1-0 win against Washington Spirit at the CPKC Stadium in Kansas City on November 24. The championship clash was watched by an average of 967,000 viewers via the official broadcast channel CBS Sports Network. Two weeks later, the MLS Cup unfolded between LA Galaxy and NY Red Bulls, with an average of 427,000 viewers catching the live action through Fox Channel.

As per statistics, the women's soccer match was viewed by 126% more people than the men's. Ohanian, a major stakeholder at one of the teams featured in the NWSL, reacted to the statistic with a smirk emoji, possibly taking pride in the increased viewership numbers for women's sports.

Serena Williams' husband, Ohanian, is the co-owner of Angel City FC. The Los Angeles-based team joined the tournament in 2022. They finished 12th among the 14 teams in the league table this year, with 7 wins, 6 draws, and 13 losses.

The NWSL had a remarkable 2024 season in terms of attendance and viewership. This year's final marked an 18% increase in viewership from the 2023 title match. Viewership for the match even peaked at 1.1 million at one point.

For the first time in the league's history, the total attendance crossed 2 million. The match between Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC on June 8 clocked the attendance record for a single match, with 35,038 spectators.

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Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian presents the biggest donation in UVA women's basketball history

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian at the Sportico's Invest in Sports Event (Source: Getty)

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, gave away the biggest donation in the history of the University of Virginia women's basketball program. However, the exact amount is unknown. The Reddit co-founder is a 2005 graduate of the Charlottesville-based university.

Ohanian has been a great advocate of women's sports, having already contributed towards the development of the women's soccer team Angel City FC and the women's-only track event, the Athlos NYC meet. This is the first time that the entrepreneur has made a major entry into basketball.

On December 12, the Virginia Athletics Foundation announced Ohanian's contribution to the basketball program. The university emphasized that the donation will help develop their program into a key destination for female college athletes while remaining feasible.