Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (2024)

Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (1)

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark celebrates after beating LSU in the Elite Eight.

CNN

Two years ago, I could never have predicted the hype which surrounds tonight’s NCAA women’s basketball Final Four.

It was only last year that this casual, although at times serious, sports fan met a basketball hall of famer and didn’t recognize her. Fortunately, former NCAA head coach Muffet McGraw was kind enough to look past my transgression.

My inability to know who I was talking to is definitely on me, but my guess is that among most casual sports fans I wouldn’t have been alone at that time in lacking knowledge about women’s NCAA basketball.

That has all changed. Women’s college basketball is not just on the map for casual fans, it’s a star on the map – thanks at least, in large part, to Iowa star Caitlin Clark.

Let’s first talk about television ratings. Over 12 million people watched Clark’s Hawkeyes defeat Angel Reese’s LSU on Monday night, according to ESPN. In today’s media environment, the idea that over 12 million would watch a cable program that isn’t the NFL is unheard of.

You examine the cable ratings on an average night, and the top programs are usually pulling in well less than five million.

If it were a network prime time broadcast, Monday’s game would have been a top 45 show in 2023.

In fact, most big sports events don’t pull in over 12 million. The Iowa-LSU game had more viewers than the average MLB World Series, NBA Final or Stanley Cup game last season.

Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (2)

Clark battles with Reese during the Elite Eight matchup.

I want you to look at that prior sentence again and fully digest it. Women’s college basketball is beating America’s pastime. If that doesn’t say the sport has arrived in the American psyche, I don’t know what does.

Not surprisingly, the viewership for the Iowa-LSU game broke the all time record for a women’s game. It easily dethroned last year’s championship game between these two squads, which came in at a little under 10 million. Even more amazingly, that game, unlike Monday’s, was available for free on ABC.

You’ll note too that both the new record and old record involved Iowa and LSU. Before last year’s championship game, the highest viewership for a women’s game was more than 20 years ago (before the splintering of media). Just 5.7 million folks tuned into that game.

In other words, the new record more than doubled the one from the pre-Clark era.

Perhaps, what’s most interesting about the viewership record occurring on Monday night is that the game wasn’t a championship game. It wasn’t even a semi-final. It was an Elite Eight matchup.

Of course, Iowa is no stranger to widely watched non-championship games. The viewership for their previous three games were 6.9 million, 4.9 million and 3.2 million. All of those would have been records for non-Final Four or championship games prior to this season.

Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (3)

Dee Vanderhoef, an Iowa Hawkeyes fan and season ticket holder since the 1970s, cheers prior to tipoff against the Holy Cross Crusaders during the first round of the tournament.

The 6.9 million would have been the biggest telecast in women’s college basketball history at any stage prior to last season.

Note too that 6.7 million Americans tuned into the game following Iowa-LSU on Monday night (UConn-USC), so this isn’t solely a Clark phenomenon.

There are alternate ways we can gauge interest in the tournament this season. Take a gander at Google searches for women’s college basketball.

This year there have been more searches since Google started tracking it in the early 2000s. This year is on track to more than double the previous record, which was last year. Last year was double the record before Clark became a household name.

But it’s not just prior tournaments this year’s women’s tournament is beating. The other big entertainment event of the last week was Beyoncé’s new album release. Far more people Googled about the NCAA women’s games than they did about Beyoncé.

The tournament is beating politicians, too. More people have been searching women’s college basketball than for US President Joe Biden. When you are beating the president, you know you’re being talked about.

The interest in the tournament goes beyond mere curiosity.

Every year, millions of Americans fill out their tournament brackets. Usually, it’s a men’s tournament bracket. Increasingly, a lot of Americans are filling a women’s bracket.

This year more than 4 million Americans filled out a bracket on one of the major websites (e.g. ESPN and NCAA) that feature them. Over three million filled them out on ESPN alone.

These numbers would be impressive on its own, but it’s even more so given where we were before Clark became a household name in the past two seasons.

Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (4)

Clark lays up a basket against the Holy Cross Crusaders during the first round.

In 2022, only about 1.5 million Americans filled out a women’s tournament bracket on ESPN.com. This means that the number of people filling out women’s brackets has more than doubled from just a few seasons ago.

Some of those brackets are just for bragging rights, but some will have an office money pool associated with them.

Indeed, there are a lot of people who are putting their money on the line when it comes to seeing the women play.

Check the prices for the men’s and women’s college basketball Final Four. Tickets for both have usually been going for hundreds of dollars on Stubhub. More than that, the tickets to the women’s tournament are often the more sought item in the past week.

That is, depending on the time you check, it will cost you more to see the women’s final four than the men’s.

Two years ago, I think most would have found that to be shocking. Given the last two weeks, I don’t think anyone is that surprised.

Thanks to Caitlin Clark, women’s basketball is now prime time viewing | CNN (2024)

FAQs

How can I watch the women's basketball game? ›

The women's NCAA Tournament national championship game will be available to stream on ESPN+ and streaming platforms that carry ABC.

Is Caitlin Clark going to the WNBA? ›

Caitlin Clark, chosen as the top pick in the 2024 draft, is slated to earn a total of $338,056 over her initial four-year contract. Only three WNBA teams possess exclusive practice facilities, eliminating the need to share space with other professional teams or rent facilities from external organizations.

What TV channel is the women's basketball game on? ›

The 2023-24 NCAA women's basketball season is airing across a number of TV channels, including ESPNU, ESPN3, FSN, Pac-12 Network, Big Ten Network (BTN), ACC Network and SEC Network. Select games will also be broadcast on national TV on CBS. The women's national championship game is being broadcast on ABC.

Who is televising the women's NCAA Tournament? ›

Every game of the women's tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN's networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.

How much money is Caitlin Clark making? ›

Caitlin will make about $76k during her first year in the WNBA. Caitlin signed a four-year, $338,000 contract with the Indiana Fever, according to Spotrac. It will pay $76,535 this year and increase through 2027, maxing out at $97,582 in her fourth year.

What is Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary? ›

Caitlin Clark's $76,000 pay is shocking—but the story is bigger than her. With all eyes on the WNBA as Caitlin Clark was drafted, many were surprised at the star player's new salary, and how it paled in comparison to that of an NBA rookie.

How much is Caitlin Clark making per year? ›

Clark, this year's No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA, will have a starting salary of $76,535 and earn roughly $338,000 over the four-year contract she signed with the Fever.

How can I watch the WNBA game today? ›

Paramount+: With Paramount+, you can stream WNBA games. The service offers a variety of content, including sports, and is available for a subscription fee . WNBA League Pass: For out-of-market fans, consider getting the WNBA League Pass for $24.99 per year.

How can I watch the NCAA women's game tonight? ›

You can watch the games on TV through your cable provider, on ABC.com or the ABC mobile app with your cable TV account credentials, including traditional and streaming services such as DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Verizon, Philo, Sling, Xfinity and others.

How to watch the women's national championship game? ›

Sunday 7 April

The final from Cleveland will be available to watch live on ABC across the United States. Broadcast and livestream coverage will also be available in other countries, including on Sky Sports in Great Britain.

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