Women’s NCAA title game breaks records, draws 18.7M viewers

South Carolina’s triumph over Iowa in the national championship game on Sunday afternoon drew an average of 18.7 million television viewers, establishing new records both within and beyond the realm of women’s college basketball.

As reported by ESPN on Monday, the broadcast became the most-watched basketball game — encompassing college and professional, men’s and women’s — since 2019, and the most-viewed sporting event outside of the Olympics or football since the same year.

Viewership peaked at 24 million as the Gamecocks capped off an undefeated season with an 87-75 victory over Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes. Remarkably, this marked the third consecutive Iowa game to set TV ratings records for women’s college basketball.

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The Hawkeyes’ Elite Eight triumph over LSU, a rematch of the previous year’s title game, attracted a then-record 9.9 million viewers. The subsequent rematch garnered an impressive 12.3 million viewers.

Continuing their surge, the Final Four clash with traditional powerhouse UConn on Friday night further elevated the record to 14.2 million viewers.