All year long the Iowa Hawkeyes drew massive ratings and were a traveling sellout to any and every stadium that they went to. Things proved to be no different in the NCAA Tournament.
Tickets were selling like hot cakes and every game the Hawkeyes have been a part of has been appointment television. That continued with their Elite 8 win over the LSU Tigers. The game, which aired on ESPN, averaged 12.3 million viewers. This shattered all other numbers for previous women’s college basketball viewing records.
BREAKING: The Iowa-LSU game averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched women's college basketball game ever.
What a MASSIVE, MASSIVE number. pic.twitter.com/cyMMSoXtVW
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 2, 2024
Iowa won the game 94-87 and throughout the entire contest social media was erupting with each and every bucket that Caitlin Clark sank on her way to a 41-point outburst to punch Iowa’s Final Four ticket.
The game drew a massive number in regards to ratings, but when put into perspective, things get even more impressive as to just how many sets of eyes were on this game. This game outdrew some of the biggest games in all of sports.
To list just a few of the games this had more ratings than, Iowa and LSU had more ratings than the 2023 NBA Finals, World Series, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, NFL Thursday Night Football, and every single regular season college football game aside from one.
At 12.3 million viewers, last night's Iowa-LSU game had more viewers than:
• Any women's CBB game ever
• The 2023 NBA Finals
• The 2023 World Series
• The 2023 Orange Bowl
• The 2023 Big Ten Championship
• The 2023 Cotton Bowl
• The 2023 Pac-12 Championship
• The 2023… pic.twitter.com/mOBgwtOMMQ— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 2, 2024
Stars move the needle. Good teams move the needle. Storylines and redemption moves the needle. The Iowa Hawkeyes have that trifecta and are a TV network’s dream each round they advance.
Next up with a chance at shattering more records is a Final Four matchup with UConn and their very own superstar in Paige Bueckers. It is another must-see game featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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