Caitlin Clark Effect: Women’s national title outdraws men’s by over four million viewers

The Caitlin Clark Effect is alive and it is very real. The women’s national championship outdrew the men’s by over four million viewers.

The Caitlin Clark Effect has officially taken over basketball. The proof is in the pudding and the numbers back it up. Millions upon millions tuned in to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the women’s national championship.

Despite falling short of the Gamecocks, Iowa’s superstar guard Caitlin Clark gave her very best effort lighting up the scoreboard with 18 points in the first quarter on her way to a 30-point performance in from of all of America to see.

She put her best foot forward one last time and did so in front of the largest women’s audience ever. The game drew 18.9 million viewers which is by far the most-watched women’s game of all-time. It is also slightly over four million viewers more than this year’s men’s national title drew with 14.8 million viewers.

The storylines surrounding the women’s game were must-see TV and the viewership turnout proves that. There were the Iowa Hawkeyes looking to capture the elusive national title in Caitlin Clark’s final collegiate game.

There also were the South Carolina Gamecocks, who entered the game 37-0, on the hunt for the almost unattainable perfect season, which they ultimately achieved.

Women’s basketball has entered an entirely new stratosphere and the ratings are there for networks. The talent, the storylines, and the product is only getting better each year and the sport will continue to climb to new heights.

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