Powerade bottles with March Madness logo before the game between the Maryland Terrapins and the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Elite Eight round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 27, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina took place.
Grant Halverson | NCAA Photos | Getty Images
The NCAA women’s championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.
According to ESPN, the game peaked at 24 million viewers and was the most-watched NCAA women’s college basketball game since 1992. According to ESPN, viewership increased 89% compared to last year’s women’s championship and increased 285% in 2022.
The championship, in which Iowa, led by Caitlin Clark, lost to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, men’s or women’s, college or professional, since 2019.
“With a record-breaking viewership of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday’s title game between Iowa and South Carolina was a fitting conclusion to the most-watched NCAA women’s basketball tournament ever,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “These extraordinary athletes, coaches and teams have captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it is up to all of us to maintain this incredible momentum.”
Last week’s semifinal between Iowa and the University of Connecticut also broke viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.
The growth has been fueled in part by players like Clark, who have drawn comparisons to some of the best sports of all time, sparking interest in women’s basketball and attracting new viewers. Clark, 22, dominated the court, setting several records and attracting more fans with the “Caitlin Clark effect.”
The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women’s sports in recent months.
Women’s sports broke records in 2023. Deloitte estimates that revenue from women’s elite sports could top $1 billion this year – a 300% increase compared to three years ago.
With groundbreaking media deals for women’s sports and private investors and celebrities equally keen to get in, ratings for women’s sports have risen to record levels.
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2024-04-08 22:11:53
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