When LSU won its first women’s basketball national championship on Sunday afternoon, it did so in front of a record-setting national television audience.
With the game televised on ABC for the first time, a stunning 9.9 million people tuned in across all platforms. That’s a 103% increase from a year ago and shatters the previous viewing record.
For context, the 4.5 million people that watched last year’s title game was the most in two decades.
It’s clear that the sport is growing, and LSU is at the center of it as the title-winning team with some of the best personalities β and athletes β in the sport.
π.π πππππππ πππππππ π€― Record-breaking #NationalChampionship thriller between @LSUwbkb & @IowaWBB makes TV history:
π Most-viewed #NCAAWBB game on record
π Up 103% YOY
π Peaked at 12.6M
π Most-viewed college event ever on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/UZLVNuP3Sf— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 3, 2023
Just to put that figure in perspective, here are some recent events that the viewership exceeded.
The NCAA Women's National Championship's 9.9 million viewers are more than:
βͺοΈ Any Women's CBB game ever
βͺοΈ Any MLS game ever
βͺοΈ Any Stanley Cup game since 1973
βͺοΈ The 2023 Orange Bowl
βͺοΈ The 2023 Sugar Bowl
βͺοΈ 2023 Thursday Night Football
βͺοΈ The 2021 NBA Finals
βͺοΈ The 2020β¦ pic.twitter.com/X6MGXYkflQ— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 4, 2023
With the WNBA’s restrictive draft rules meaning players like [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] and Caitlin Clark are likely to come back next season, this sport isn’t going anywhere. And neither, it seems, are the Tigers.
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