Caitlin Clark couldn’t be more pumped up after seeing the viewership numbers that the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. South Carolina Gamecocks generated during their National Championship showdown on Sunday.
As expected, the battle made history as the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. But it did more than that.
Insane Viewership Numbers of Iowa Hawkeyes vs. South Carolina, Revealed
According to the viewership data shared online, the Hawkeyes-Gamecocks meeting recorded an average of 18.7 million viewers on ESPN. It actually peaked at 24 million viewers.
The year-over-year increase in viewership is at 89 percent, but it’s worth noting that the number is a 252 percent increase compared to the 2022 National Championship game.
Over the last five years, it is also the most-watched basketball game–be it men’s or women’s and college or pro level. That means it even got more viewers than what the last five NBA Finals got.
Even more amazing, it is actually the “second most-watched non-Olympic women’s sporting event ever on U.S. television.” It is only behind the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final, according to Adam Zagoria of New York Times.
Iowa’s showdown with the LSU Tigers in the Elite Eight (12.3 million average viewers) and UConn Huskies (14.2 million) in the Final Four both broke the record as the most-watch women’s college basketball game. But considering the star power and importance of the Final, the numbers of the two match-ups didn’t stand a chance.
Caitlin Clark Reacts To Iowa Hawkeyes vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Record
After learning of the massive viewership numbers, Caitlin Clark couldn’t believe it as well and expressed her shock over it. On X (formerly Twitter), Clark could only write “18.7 MILLION” along with a fire emoji to highlight her amazement and disbelief.
18.7 MILLION 🔥
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) April 8, 2024
To be fair to Clark, those numbers from the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. South Carolina Gamecocks battle are truly incredible. The fact that it is even the most-watched hoop game since 2019 speaks volumes of the massive interest in the women’s game compared to years past. That in itself is already amazing.
Who could have known that women’s basketball would be able to reach such level this quickly? Sure enough, Clark is a huge reason for that. She has been the face of the women’s college game over the last couple of years, and it has definitely helped increase the interest in the sport.
The women’s game should only go up and elevate further from here on out. While Clark is now heading to the WNBA, there’s no doubt that her impact on the game will only continue to spread.
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