Sunday's women's national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa was the most-watched television game in women's basketball history, according to ESPN, which along with ABC televised the game and named the Nielsen Fast Nationals. It is said to have broken viewership records.
The game, played at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, saw South Carolina defeat Caitlin Clark vs. Iowa State, 87-75, with a peak audience of 24 million viewers and an average audience of 18.7 million. Collected.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro called it a “fitting finale” to the most-watched NCAA women's basketball tournament ever.
“These outstanding athletes, coaches and teams have captured our attention in unprecedented ways, and it is incumbent upon us all to maintain the incredible momentum,” Pitaro said. Told. “I am also extremely proud of our talented and dedicated employees for how they staged this historic event.”
The previous record for the most-watched women's basketball game was set two days earlier in the Final Four semifinal game between Iowa and Connecticut. The game averaged 14.2 million viewers, according to ESPN, which aired the game during the historic Women's NCAA Tournament, which competes for television ratings.
Follow the madness: NCAA basketball brackets, scores, schedules, teams, and more.
The Iowa vs. UW game broke the record set in the previous round, and the Elite Eight game between Iowa and LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers.
Clark will face undefeated South Carolina on Sunday, making the game the most-watched sporting event since 2019 outside of football and the Olympics, according to ESPN. The game was also the most-watched basketball game at any level since 2019, according to ESPN.
Additionally, South Carolina vs. Iowa was the second-most-watched non-Olympic sporting event ever on U.S. television, behind the 2015 Women's World Cup final, in which the U.S. defeated Japan 5-2.