• Investing
  • Stock
Round Table Thoughts
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Home Editor's Pick Women’s college basketball championship expected to set new viewership records amid Caitlin Clark mania
Editor's Pick

Women’s college basketball championship expected to set new viewership records amid Caitlin Clark mania

by April 7, 2024
by April 7, 2024 0 comment
Share
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

The NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship is set to smash viewership records as star players and greater TV coverage drive more fans than ever to the sport.

The matchup between Iowa and South Carolina, both No. 1 seeds, is slated for 3 p.m. Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

Friday night’s matchup between Iowa and No. 3 seed UConn was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever, and broke ESPN’s record as the most-watched basketball game in the network’s history, college or pro, with 14.2 million viewers and a peak of 17 million.

According to Richard Dietsch, a sportswriter at The Athletic, that’s more than any World Series game last year, any NBA Finals game last year, and every Daytona 500 since 2013.

On Saturday, TickPick said the ‘get-in’ price for Sunday’s women’s final was $555 — a record.

Ratings for Friday night’s women’s semifinals games, which saw Iowa beat UConn and South Carolina top N.C. State, were not available as of Saturday afternoon. 

Soaring interest in the women’s game is the product of two main phenomena, experts say: a new batch of stars, including a once-in-a-generation player; and the increasing coverage those players now receive, thanks to greater investment from networks in broadcasting the games.

At the top of the star wave stands Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa guard who has broken not only the most records for scoring in the women’s game, but earlier this year surpassed Pete Maravich as the all-time leading NCAA career basketball scorer, period. That’s a record that had stood for 54 years.

Clark has been a standout since her arrival at Iowa four years ago, leading the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 as a freshman while being unanimously named Big 10 Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten.

She has gone on to win the NCAA’s most valuable player award the past two years.

At the conclusion of this season, Clark, 22, will leave for the WNBA.

Yet other stars are primed to keep the momentum going for the women’s games, said Ben Portnoy, who covers college sports for Sports Business Journal. While legendary women’s coaches like Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, who died in 2016, and UConn’s Geno Auriemma have been the biggest names in the game, increased — and more consistent — media coverage has led to more players sharing in the spotlight.

In the 2021 season, ESPN and ABC switched to a national broadcast format for the women’s tournament that matched how the mens tournament was televised.

‘Broadcast, over the air coverage, had been lacking,’ said Jon Lewis, who runs Sports Media Watch, a website that tracks athletics broadcasting.

He said ESPN simply took a calculated gamble that there was finally enough demand for the women’s game that keeping it on regional broadcasts or on secondary networks like ESPN 2 was limiting opportunities for growth.

“ESPN’s a business — there’s no charity involved here,” Lewis said. “If they see the women’s Final Four is getting traction on ESPN 2, they started to wonder how many more it could get on ESPN.”

The increased coverage has coincided with a key differentiator that now separates the men’s and women’s games: professional eligibility rules — something that is allowing the women’s game to produce more stars more consistently than the men’s teams.

While women cannot go pro until they turn 22, the age limit is just 19 with one year of college for men.

“The front-line stars in men’s aren’t sticking around as much as in the women’s game,” Portnoy said. “The women’s game benefits from that.”

Among the new crop set to dominate next season’s women’s game: the University of Southern California’s Juju Watkins, Villanova’s Lucy Olsen and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.

Portnoy said that as a result of men’s players going pro earlier, there may now be fewer household names in that sport than in women’s. And that’s reflected in some women’s games earning higher ratings this year than men’s games.

But while the men’s game may also increasingly suffer from a lack of stars, there is less structural need for them to get eyeballs, Lewis said. Instead, the lack of some traditional male-dominated powerhouses, like Duke or Kentucky, making it to the final rounds has also kept ratings growth slow this year.

The women’s game is more star-driven, Lewis said.

The end of Clark’s superstar college career could mean this year proves a high watermark for women’s tournament viewership, he said. At the same time, a new viewership floor has been set — and a lesson learned by the networks that the audiences for the women’s game are potentially huge.

‘Between the growth underway before Caitlin Clark, and the growth attributable to Caitlin Clark — I don’t see us going back to the era where it averaged fewer than 3 million viewers,’ Lewis said. ‘So there’s a new permanent higher bar for this tournament going forward.’

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
You Might Also Like
  • Quectel Launches Automotive Grade 5G NR Release 16 Modules to Support Autonomous Driving
  • A troubling theory about traders profiting from Hamas’ attack on Israel drew much attention. Why it may not be so simple.
  • Cash App owner Block pays $40 million in settlement over ‘serious compliance deficiencies’
  • Boeing delivered 30 airplanes in December, but gap with Airbus widened in 2024
Share
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

previous post
WWIII could start over Philippines dispute in South China Sea, China ‘not respecting’ treaties, expert says
next post
How immigrants are helping boost the U.S. job market without affecting inflation

You may also like

Government shutdown November deadline: What happens to Social Security payments...

November 15, 2023

Before DeSantis’ Disney takeover, it gave itself new powers in...

April 2, 2023

Super Micro’s $50 billion stock collapse underscores risk of AI...

November 1, 2024

Consumers are starting to feel better about the U.S. economy

July 15, 2023

Social Security checks are about to change. Here’s when and...

December 20, 2023

Gas prices are rising. Here’s how to stretch your dollar...

July 8, 2024

Elon Musk’s X and Starlink face nearly $1 million in...

September 20, 2024

The Body Shop shuts down in the U.S. after filing...

March 13, 2024

GM lays off 1,000 employees amid reorganization and cost-cutting

November 16, 2024

UAW reveals newest strike locations at GM and Ford amid...

September 30, 2023

    Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Krispy Kreme stock plunges after doughnut chain pauses McDonald’s rollout, pulls outlook

      May 8, 2025
    • Don’t Buy Robinhood Stock… Until You See This Chart Setup

      May 8, 2025
    • UnitedHealthcare sued by shareholders over reaction to CEO’s killing

      May 8, 2025
    • The Unpredictable Stock Market: How to Make Sense of It

      May 8, 2025
    • AMD CEO calls China a ‘large opportunity’ and warns against strict U.S. chip controls

      May 7, 2025

    Popular Posts

    • 1

      Trump-era China sanctions ended by Biden may be...

      June 27, 2024 2,630 views
    • 2

      Walz’s honeymoon with China gets fresh scrutiny as...

      August 9, 2024 2,339 views
    • 3

      Biden appointee played key role in recruiting Chinese...

      June 25, 2024 2,320 views
    • 4

      Shein’s global ambitions leaves some cybersecurity experts fearful...

      July 10, 2024 2,302 views
    • 5

      Harris VP pick spent years promoting research facility...

      August 29, 2024 2,186 views

    Categories

    • Economy (7,009)
    • Editor's Pick (2,066)
    • Investing (538)
    • Stock (2,530)

    Popular Posts

    • 1

      Trump-era China sanctions ended by Biden may be revived under new House GOP bill

      June 27, 2024
    • 2

      Walz’s honeymoon with China gets fresh scrutiny as Harris camp blasts ‘lying’ critics

      August 9, 2024
    • 3

      Biden appointee played key role in recruiting Chinese businesses to Delaware: ‘Longtime friends’

      June 25, 2024
    • 4

      Shein’s global ambitions leaves some cybersecurity experts fearful of Chinese spy threats

      July 10, 2024
    • 5

      Harris VP pick spent years promoting research facility that collaborated with ‘Chinese military company’

      August 29, 2024

    Latest News

    • Krispy Kreme stock plunges after doughnut chain pauses McDonald’s rollout,...

      May 8, 2025
    • Don’t Buy Robinhood Stock… Until You See This Chart Setup

      May 8, 2025
    • UnitedHealthcare sued by shareholders over reaction to CEO’s killing

      May 8, 2025

    Categories

    • Economy (7,009)
    • Editor's Pick (2,066)
    • Investing (538)
    • Stock (2,530)

    Disclaimer: RoundTableThoughts.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2024 RoundTableThoughts.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Round Table Thoughts
    • Investing
    • Stock
    Round Table Thoughts
    • Economy
    • Editor’s Pick

    Read alsox

    DOJ sues Walgreens, alleging it ‘knowingly’...

    January 19, 2025

    U.S. engine maker facing largest Clean...

    December 23, 2023

    Senet and UnaBiz Partner to Enable...

    March 13, 2023
    Sign In

    Keep me signed in until I sign out

    Forgot your password?

    Password Recovery

    A new password will be emailed to you.

    Have received a new password? Login here