In 2024, almost 19 million people watched the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship game– the highest in college basketball. Just days prior, the number was 12 million for the Iowa-LSU showdown, setting a record by itself. You know the names that managed that. While Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking run was one thing, some even attribute Angel Reese’s antics from the 2023 finals game to the soaring interest. You’d think, without the two stars who stacked up these records, the NCAA women’s would not see the same again. But the current classes are here to say ‘think again’. We are sure CC is smiling somewhere, with her belief proven right.
The 2024-25 NCAA Women’s Basketball season is evidence that the growth of the sport is not a one-off. This season has marked the most-watched regular season in 16 years, proving that women’s college basketball is no longer a sport that only gets attention on social media and nowhere else.
ESPN’s report shows that viewership is up 3% from last year and 41% percent from 2022-23. It’s a clear example that this isn’t a fluke. More eyes mean more interest, and for the second year in a row, people in the country have, in fact, kept their eyes glued to their screens.
The numbers don’t lie. And the fans aren’t just watching; they’re staying. Indeed. In this regular season alone, viewers watched an astonishing 2.9 billion minutes of women’s basketball content. And that’s indicative of listeners sticking around for more than just a few minutes — they’re getting invested and following the sport through and through. So people might as well start acting upon the tip the Indiana Fever star handed back in December.
Speaking to Time then, Clark would note that the smartest thing for spectators to do right now is invest in women’s sports. Because, “the price is only going up.” The 2024 ROTY is down for it herself when the circumstances allow. But for now, she is busy elevating the landscape alongside hundreds others and ensuring women’s sports is the place to be.
Caitlin Clark holds out hopes for women’s sports
For the last season, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese carried on their impact from college to WNA seamlessly. Their rivalry games peaked records each time– 2 million on ION TV and 2.25 on CBS for the next game. And it’s not just the viewrship. They’re buying in too. WNBA merchandise sales have increased 236%, with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese leading jersey sales. But it wasn’t all limited around them.
WNBA games as a whole are actually enjoying fairly healthy growth, averaging 1.32 million viewers in 2024. Moreover, the finals between New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx turned out to be the most watched finals in 25 years with an average of 1.6 million viewers, up 115 percent over 2023.
In the words of Flora Kelly, ESPN’s VP of Research, the growth “in a post-Clark era” demonstrates that the sport’s attraction is much deeper than any individual player. CC is only expecting that to grow and grow more. “I feel like we’re just scratching the surface,” she says. “If you would have told people this is where the WNBA is, five years ago … people probably wouldn’t have believed you.” But here we are with sold out arenas and merchendise; people lined up and media deals seeing better; kids inspired and brands stepping up.
There’s no turning back. College basketball or WNBA, the sport is only getting larger.
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