With the exciting and mind-blowing match against South Carolina and Iowa recently, many fans were tuned in to witness whether the famous Caitlin Clark will help secure the win for Iowa, or South Carolina will snatch victory.
The anticipation of spectators was booming with record ratings and the match became one of the most viewed basketball games in history.
ESPN’s coverage of South Carolina’s exciting 87-75 victory over Iowa on ABC/ESPN averaged 18.7 million viewers. During the game, the ratings for all other athletic events, excluding the Olympics and football, were surpassed at that time.
The network reported that 24 million people watched at its peak, and it broke the previous women’s college basketball record and nearly doubled the Iowa-LSU championship game from the previous year.
On having the ‘Caitlin Clark effect’
With each game, the infamous “Caitlin Clark effect” grew, shattering successive TV records. A record 9.9 million people watched Clark and Iowa’s 2023 championship defeat to Angel Reese and LSU.
Other games garnered several views due to this phenomenon. An astounding 6.9 million people saw Clark and Iowa play Colorado in the Sweet 16 matchup and that paved the way for three consecutive TV performances that broke records.
Moreover, with 12.3 million viewers, the eight matches between Clark and Iowa and Reese and LSU set a new record for women’s college basketball viewing.
After securing the top choice in the WNBA draft, it is expected that Clark will increase the league’s audience exponentially. During the 2023 season, the WNBA averaged 505,000 viewers across ABC, CBS, ESPN, and ESPN2.
This was a 21% increase over the previous year. That statistic will most likely rise as long as Clark continues to light up the Indiana Fever’s three-point shooting displays.
Cover Photo: IG
Source: Front Office Sports