Women's college basketball final Caitlin Clark viewership records trend

Women's Final Four set to break viewership records with star players and increased TV coverage driving unprecedented interest in the sport.

The Women's Final Four this weekend is poised to shatter viewership records as a result of star players and increased TV coverage drawing more fans to the sport than ever before. The excitement kicks off this evening with No. 1 seed South Carolina taking on No. 3 seed N.C. State at 7 p.m., followed by No. 1 seed Iowa facing off against No. 3 seed UConn.

Projections indicate that ratings for the tournament are expected to reach well into the double-digit millions. Last week's Iowa-LSU game reached 12.3 million viewers, setting a new record for women's basketball and becoming the second most-watched game of the entire NCAA basketball tournament, regardless of gender.

According to TickPick, the current "get-in" price for the men's Final Four is $416, while for the women's Final Four, it's slightly higher at $451.

The surge in interest in women's basketball can be attributed to two main factors, experts say: the emergence of a new generation of stars, including a once-in-a-lifetime player, and the increased coverage these players receive due to greater investment from networks in broadcasting the games.

At the forefront of this star wave is Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa guard who has shattered numerous scoring records in the women's game and recently surpassed Pete Maravich as the all-time leading NCAA career basketball scorer, a record that had stood for over five decades. Clark has been a standout player since her freshman year at Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 and earning multiple accolades, including being named Big 10 Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten.

As the current season concludes, the 22-year-old Clark will depart for the WNBA, leaving a void that other emerging stars are poised to fill. The increased and consistent media coverage of women's basketball has allowed more players to share the spotlight, a departure from the past when legendary coaches like Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma were the biggest names in the game.

The shift to a national broadcast format for the women's tournament by ESPN and ABC in 2021 has been pivotal in expanding the reach of women's basketball. This change has allowed the women's game to produce more stars consistently than the men's game, as professional eligibility rules differ between the two. Women are not eligible to turn pro until they are 22, whereas men can do so at 19 with one year of college.

The men's game may be facing challenges with stars leaving for the pros earlier, resulting in fewer household names, while the women's game remains star-driven. The potential for huge audiences for women's basketball has been realized by networks, setting a new permanent higher bar for tournament viewership. With the growth underway before Caitlin Clark and the growth attributed to her, the future of women's basketball looks bright with a new generation of stars ready to shine.