Friday night’s Final Four matchup was arguably the most anticipated women’s college basketball game in recent history. The game delivered on its lofty expectations and then some. The Iowa Hawkeyes took down previously undefeated South Carolina and will face LSU in their shot at the national championship.
The game had star power, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, to go with high-stakes. The game came down to the final minute and the ratings proved the sports world was tuned in.
The Iowa-South Carolina game was the catalyst that made this season’s women’s semifinals the most viewed in ESPN’s history. It is also the most-viewed semifinal game on record.
#WFinalFour ๐๐๐๐๐๐ across ESPN platforms to become the most-viewed #NCAAWBB semis (4.5M avg viewers) in ESPN history
๐@IowaWBB vs. @GamecockWBB | 5.5M viewers | Peak: 6.6M
๐@LSUwbkb vs. @HokiesWBB | 3.4M viewers | Peak: 5M
๐2 most-viewed ๐ games ever on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/qHD3VtYp3F— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 1, 2023
The Hawkeyes drew 5.5 million viewers on average with a peak rating of 6.6 million viewers. These ratings are the third most-viewed women’s college basketball game to date. The women’s Final Four games are also the most-viewed games in the history of ESPN+, ESPN’s subscription streaming service.
The most impressive tidbit may be that this game is now the most-viewed NCAA basketball game on ESPN since 2008 when the Duke and North Carolina men squared off.
For some context to how massive these numbers are, the two Duke versus North Carolina men’s matchups this season, college basketball’s premier rivalry, drew an average of 2.74 million viewers. Iowa’s Final Four game practically doubled the ratings of the Duke versus North Carolina rivalry.
Sunday afternoon has the Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers tipping off for the national championship and it should see another big number when the ratings come out.
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