WNBA
THE CAITLIN CLARK EFFECT: A RECORD 18.7 MILLION VIEWERS WATCHED THE WOMEN'S NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
DID YOU KNOW: The Iowa-South Carolina matchup became the second most-watched non-Olympic women’s sport event ever on U.S. TV
Apr 8, 2024
Whoever said the Cailin Clark effect wasn’t real?
“With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday’s Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it’s incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going. I’m also very proud of our talented and committed employees for how they presented this historic event.”
The women's NCAA tournament continued to attract large audiences, particularly for Sunday's championship game.
The showdown between Iowa and South Carolina garnered 18.7 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, as per Nielsen fast national data, with a peak viewership of 24 million. This propelled the game to become the second most-watched non-Olympic women's sporting event in U.S. television history, trailing only the 2015 Women's World Cup final.
The viewership for Sunday's game, which saw the South Carolina Gamecocks defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes led by Caitlin Clark with a score of 87-75, surged by 89% compared to the 2023 national championship game and skyrocketed by 285% from the 2022 game.
Overall, the game recorded the largest audience for any basketball game, including men's or women's college or professional games, since 2019.
