The NCAA championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks has shattered records. The clash drew a staggering 18.7 million views, breaking the previously established college final record. The presence of Caitlin Clark in the game played an active role in garnering the attention of basketball fans as her popularity remains on the rise.
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As per ‘Front Office Sports’, the game drew a larger audience than last year’s men’s championship clash between UConn and San Diego State (14.6 million views). On top of it, this has become the most-viewed basketball game in the last five years, surpassing the NBA Finals viewership during this phase.
Across sports, it generated more viewership than the previous year’s Georgia-TCU (17.2 million) and Alabama-Georgia (17.5 million) games. Only the NCAA’s Michigan-Ohio State game brought in more viewers (19 million) than the recent final.
South Carolina-Iowa drew a larger audience than any of last year’s non-NFL sporting events except one:
Michigan–Ohio State, Fox: 19M
South Carolina-Iowa, ABC/ESPN: 18.7M
Alabama-Georgia, CBS: 17.5M
Georgia-TCU, ESPN: 17.2M
UConn-SDSU, CBS: 14.6M— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 8, 2024
This serves as an extension of Clark’s influence on the college basketball circuit. After all, the gradual increase in viewership in each of her last three NCAA games reflects precisely that. A week back, their Elite Eight clash against the defending champions, LSU, garnered 12.3 million views.
Every single one of Caitlin Clark’s last three college games broke the record for the most-watched women’s CBB game ever:
• 12.3 million, Iowa-LSU
• 14.2 million, Iowa-UConn
• 18.7 million, Iowa-South Carolina pic.twitter.com/Gp4svIZ7NJ— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 8, 2024
Merely four days later, the viewership increased further in the Final Four game against the UConn Huskies (14.2 million).
Caitlin Clark has increased the viewership 100 folds
The incremental growth in interest in her endeavors becomes evident upon a close inspection of the last few year’s viewership. More than two years ago, the Hawkeyes set a Big Ten Network Women’s basketball viewership record. At that time, 164,000 people tuned in to witness her excellence against Ohio State. The latest championship clash thus increased the viewership by more than 100 folds, capturing her influence in the game.
798 days ago, Iowa WBB set a Big Ten Network WBB viewership record, with 164k tuning in for their game against Ohio State.
Yesterday, 18.7 million people tuned in for the national title game against South Carolina.
Grew. The. Game. https://t.co/M4Fn7ENqR4
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) April 8, 2024
Amidst the remarkable popularity, her college career faced an unprecedented ending as the Gamecocks triumphed 87-75. This marked Clark’s second consecutive defeat in the NCAA championship games in two years. However, the 22-year-old has already started to look ahead by initiating her preparations for the WNBA. This growth mindset could also result in a disruption in her future endeavors as the fans continue to keep an eye on her brilliance.
