The women’s NCAA Tournament final had a lot of momentum heading into Sunday afternoon, and the major interest in the game proved to be legitimate as the matchup between LSU and Iowa shattered all previous records for a women’s final.
On Monday night, ESPN reported that the women’s NCAA Tournament final set new ratings records with the game averaging just under 10 million viewers (9.9) for the broadcast on ABC and ESPN 2. At one point during the game, the audience peaked with an outstanding 12.6 million viewers.
The ratings for this year’s final were up 103% from last year’s game between UConn and South Carolina, which scored 4.85 million on ESPN and ESPN 2. This was the first time that a women’s national championship game was aired on network television since a 1995 clash between UConn and Tennessee. That game averaged just over 7 million viewers for its broadcast on CBS.
While the men’s NCAA Tournament was a major focus of the sports world over the last few weeks, the women’s tourney caught fire among basketball fans. Ratings for the 2023 tournament got stronger as the event moved along and as Iowa superstar, Caitlin Clark, became a household name.
