The Iowa Hawkeyes and their star player, Caitlin Clark, achieved a remarkable feat during the women’s NCAA Tournament. In their second-round game Monday against West Virginia, the Hawkeyes secured a 64-54 victory, captivating an impressive audience. Nielsen reports that the game averaged 4.90 million viewers on ESPN. This viewership milestone makes it the most-viewed women’s tournament game ever, excluding Final Four contests and title games. Notably, this game also holds the distinction of being the most-watched NCAA Tournament game (both men’s and women’s) on cable this year, surpassing the previous high set by Houston’s overtime win over Texas A&M.
With that huge Iowa boost, round-of-32 games this year averaged a record 1.4 million viewers, up a staggering 121% from last year. All that came on top of 3.23 million people tuning in to Iowa’s 91–65 rout of outmatched 16-seed Holy Cross in the first round. Since advancing to the Sweet 16, Clark has been in the news all week, receiving an invite to Team USA’s Olympic camp, starring as the subject of a 96-page tribute magazine from ESPN, and even getting a $5 million offer to compete in the Big3 basketball league.
The excitement surrounding the Hawkeyes continues, and their upcoming Albany 2 Regional semifinal game against Colorado promises to draw another large audience, especially since the men’s regional finals won’t tip off until the evening. Additionally, the overall viewership for Sunday and Monday’s second-round games has seen a 121% increase compared to last year, with standout matchups like LSU’s rally over Middle Tennessee and UConn’s victory over Syracuse contributing to the surge in interest1.
Iowa's Albany 2 Regional semifinal game against Colorado will be on ABC on Saturday afternoon. It should draw another large audience, especially with both men's regional finals not tipping off until the evening.
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