In a thrilling women’s Final Four matchup, Iowa wowed the crowd with a stunning 71-69 victory over UConn on Friday night, setting a new record for women’s basketball viewership. According to ESPN, the game was watched by an average of 14.2 million viewers, marking it as the most-watched women’s basketball game ever and the largest audience ever for an ESPN basketball broadcast.
This milestone surpasses the previous record set by the Iowa-LSU game in the Elite Eight, which attracted 12.3 million viewers. Notably, it outperformed Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals between Cleveland and Boston, which took the title of ESPN’s most-watched basketball game.
The high viewership of Iowa games also places it among the most watched sporting events, matching the viewership seen in college football and the NFL. For example, last year’s NCAA men’s title game averaged 14.79 million viewers.
During the Iowa-UConn matchup, viewership reached an impressive 17 million, solidifying its position as one of the top 50 primetime broadcasts of 2024. Additionally, this marked ESPN’s second-largest audience for a non-football broadcast, trailing only the 2014 season. World Cup match between the United States and Portugal.
Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn at the women’s Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast. https://t.co/0jlxDR73Iy
— News 4 Buffalo (@news4buffalo) April 7, 2024
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s impressive 78–59 win over North Carolina State also attracted an average of 7.1 million viewers. This makes it the third most-watched women’s national semi-final since record-keeping began in 1992.
Overall, the two Friday games combined averaged 10.8 million viewers, Witnessing a significant increase of 138% in viewership compared to last year. With Iowa set to face South Carolina for the national championship, expectations are high for another exciting matchup that could further increase the growing popularity of women’s basketball.
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