It's pretty much the same as the Men's game, college and pro. The men might palm/carry the ball a lot more and it never gets called. It's just the way the game as evolved.
Worthy of note: this number is higher than ANY NBA game broadcasted on ESPN thus far this year. I really wonder what kind of number we are going to get for the Iowa - South Carolina game.
#WFinalFour 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒 across ESPN platforms to become the most-viewed #NCAAWBB semis (4.5M avg viewers) in ESPN history
the amount of travels that were not called. insane.
It's pretty much the same as the Men's game, college and pro. The men might palm/carry the ball a lot more and it never gets called. It's just the way the game as evolved.
and some very interesting comparisons for the "nobody watches womens sports" crew:
The NCAA Women's National Championship's 9.9 million viewers are more than:
▪️ Any Women's CBB game ever ▪️ Any MLS game ever ▪️ Any Stanley Cup game since 1973 ▪️ The 2023 Orange Bowl ▪️ The 2023 Sugar Bowl ▪️ 2023 Thursday Night Football ▪️ The 2021 NBA Finals ▪️ The 2020… pic.twitter.com/X6MGXYkflQ
The research that valued the women's tournament $81-112 million / yr was based on the TV ratings of previous years. With this year's TV ratings surge, NCAA should ask for more.
Next year, it is highly unlikely that Caitlin Clark will be in the Final Four. People watched this year because of her and ONLY because of her. The media kept highlighting her 40-point games, triple doubles, and 3-pointers from well beyond NBA range. Without her, interest is minimal.
Unless Paige Bueckers and UCONN can make it, the TV ratings will plummet to less than 50% of this year. Even Bueckers won't have quite the same effect because she doesn't put up such high numbers despite being at least as good as Clark.
The men's tournament had so many upsets that nobody cared about the teams playing so nobody watched. No Duke, UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky. Seriously, what basketball fan wants to see San Diego State versus a weak UCONN team in the final? It would have had better viewership if Florida Atlantic would have made the final due to the Cinderella aspect.
If you want to see the real difference between interest, compare regular season games rather than the Final Four. Many people will sit and watch a championship game involving this "Clark" girl they keep hearing about' very few will sit down and watch a televised Iowa game in January.
The same thing might have been said after the 79 final between Michigan St and Indiana St. The Louisville vs UCLA match up a year later might not have generated the same interest but the tournament has always been popular since.
Next year, it is highly unlikely that Caitlin Clark will be in the Final Four. People watched this year because of her and ONLY because of her. The media kept highlighting her 40-point games, triple doubles, and 3-pointers from well beyond NBA range. Without her, interest is minimal.
Unless Paige Bueckers and UCONN can make it, the TV ratings will plummet to less than 50% of this year. Even Bueckers won't have quite the same effect because she doesn't put up such high numbers despite being at least as good as Clark.
The men's tournament had so many upsets that nobody cared about the teams playing so nobody watched. No Duke, UNC, Kansas, or Kentucky. Seriously, what basketball fan wants to see San Diego State versus a weak UCONN team in the final? It would have had better viewership if Florida Atlantic would have made the final due to the Cinderella aspect.
If you want to see the real difference between interest, compare regular season games rather than the Final Four. Many people will sit and watch a championship game involving this "Clark" girl they keep hearing about' very few will sit down and watch a televised Iowa game in January.
Keep changing those goal posts! still desperately clinging to your "nobody watches!" mantra despite the avalanche of statistics noting otherwise I see. Except now its "nobody will watch eventually!" or at least, "nobody watches in January!" lol!
Less than 50%? The game got 5 million viewers a year ago and Clark wasnt playing in that game nor was the game being promoted like it was this year. Do you really think not one more person became interested in women's basketball after the incredible athletic display we got this year? Do you really think every single one of those extra 5 million were non fans who just decided to tune in for the heck of it and wont ever watch women's basketball again? Thats absurd. Also, just because numbers were down for the men this year for understandable reasons, doesnt mean the mens game is "unwatchable" or doomed or will never reach the heights it did when Kansas played North Carolina for the Championship. Numbers fluctuate. Thats ok. The advertisers arent going anywhere. The same will be true for the women but the women's game is now finally in a growth stage as its finally being promoted in some of the ways the men's game has been for decades. So dont expect the women's numbers to "plummet". Will we see 10 million viewers again next year? Maybe. Maybe not. But there is no doubt that the trajectory of the women's game is overall upward in contrast to the men's game which has less potential to grow based on marketing alone because its taken advantage of that approach for so long.
By the way, to your assertion that the Tournament numbers dont matter because nobody watches regular season games in January, you should probably check those numbers as well. Youll find that regular season Iowa games often beat a third of the mens games for the same week when they were allowed on an equal viewing platform. And when LSU and South Carolina played their regular season game this season they drew 1.5 million viewers. In early February. No Caitlin Clark in sight. So, no, this isnt just a flash in the pan Tournament trend.
"In 2018, LSU’s athletic department reported $145 million in revenue to the NCAA. Of that, LSU reported $87 million came from football. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. LSU also reported $39 million from media rights, the result of the SEC’s negotiations with ESPN and CBS. The athletic department only credited $12 million of that to football, even though anyone in college sports would tell you the vast majority of CBS’ interest in the SEC was football-based. Football’s real contribution was well over $100 million of LSU’s $145 million in total athletic money. But even going by LSU’s accounting, football made $55 million in profit. Men’s basketball and baseball, together, added a little less than $1 million. Everything else lost money, but thanks to football, the department still made about $8 million."
Next year, it is highly unlikely that Caitlin Clark will be in the Final Four. People watched this year because of her and ONLY because of her. The media kept highlighting her 40-point games, triple doubles, and 3-pointers from well beyond NBA range. Without her, interest is minimal.
Lauren Betts is leaving Stanford, and there is a chance she will end up in Iowa. If this happens, Iowa will be a title contender again. Lexi Donarski of Iowa State (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year) is also in transfer portal. If Iowa gets both Betts and Donarski, they will be the favorite to win the title.