Current Events > The NCAA women's basketball final outrated the men's for the first time ever

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/media/ncaa-womens-tournament-outrated-mens-for-first-time/index.html

For the first time in its 42-year history, more people watched the womens NCAA basketball final than the mens. The total number of viewers for Sundays womens national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa was 18.9 million, peaking at 24.1 million in the games final 15 minutes, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched womens college basketball game ever and doubled the previous years 9.9 million viewers. On Monday, the University of Connecticuts victory over Purdue in the mens final drew 14.8 million viewers, Nielsen said. That was up a smidge from the 14.7 million who watched last years mens championship game, but fell 4 million viewers short of the womens final. The biggest reason why the women outrated the men this year: Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark, who scored 30 points in the Hawkeyes 87-75 defeat by the undefeated Gamecocks. Clark captivated fans all year, setting records on the court and driving the womens game to viewership records throughout the regular season and the March Madness tournament. Clark finished the 2023-2024 season as the highest scoring collegiate basketball player in history, outpacing Louisiana State sensation Pete Maravich, who had set the previous record in 1970.

To put the womens championship game viewership in perspective, it outrated every 2023 World Series game and every NBA finals game from last year, according to Nielsen. The success of this years tournament led to many hot takes in sports media about womens sports finally reaching equal status with mens. But Clarks exit from the college game and likely rookie season on the dreadful Indiana Fever which has the first pick in the WNBA draft will put those theories to the test later this year.

And now since Clark graduated it's all over.

Aloc posted...

And now since Clark graduated it's all over.

WNBA will get a ratings boost well on whichever team she goes too at least

Them Gamecocks

Aztex posted...

WNBA will get a ratings boost well on whichever team she goes too at least

For a month maybe

Aztex posted...

WNBA will get a ratings boost well on whichever team she goes too at least

I hope so but I think the WNBA is such a joke not even CC will save it

At some point maybe the men's game will stop tipping off at 9 PM on a Monday.