The Caitlin Clark Effect has been real for years. Now, it's officially seismic.
Ahead of Friday night's Iowa-South Carolina game, there was considerable discussion about its record-breaking ratings potential. It was set to feature women's college basketball’s best player against women's college basketball’s best team — a team chasing perfection.
The game’s viewership itself did break records — and became one of the most watched games in women’s basketball history.
In the wake of those huge viewership numbers, focus turned toward the National Championship Game and how big the ratings would be for that game. The game would be on Sunday afternoon without significant viewership competition -- and it would be on a broadcast network in ABC, increasing its reach. LSU may not have had the undefeated aura that South Carolina brought to the semifinal game, but the stakes -- a national championship -- were even higher.
The actual viewership numbers shattered even the loftiest expectations. Viewership jumped a preposterous 80% from the South Carolina game. Even the year-over-year change spiked from an already-impressive 72% to 103% — in other words, this wasn't just an expected bump for a championship, millions of new viewers were specifically interested in seeing this game.
The numbers look even more impressive with added context from some of the most popular events the NCAA has to offer:
Massive, incredible numbers.
And it stands very much to reason that Iowa and South Carolina delivering on the hype in the semifinal is what propelled the championship game ratings to their historic levels.
The Game Itself Delivered
It’s one thing for a game to have compelling storylines in the buildup. It’s another for the game to actually deliver upon the hyped buildup. If anything, the Iowa-South Carolina game exceeded the hype.
First, the buildup to the game itself emphasized the fact that Iowa was a significant underdog. Everyone loves an underdog. It’s part of what makes March Madness so compelling.
But it wasn’t just that Iowa was an underdog. Iowa led most of the game, ratcheting up the drama and urgency of what people could (and did) tune in to see.
It was also an extremely competitive game, down to the last minute. For most of the second half, the game was within two possessions -- and South Carolina even had a brief lead early in the fourth quarter.
And then, of course, Caitlin Clark played one of the most impressive games in women’s basketball history against one of the game’s best-ever defenses: 41 points and a triple-double.
Longtime fans are familiar with her logo threes and spectacular passes, but new viewers got their first look at one of the most exciting players in the history of women's basketball — and one of the brashest:
The game itself was pretty close to perfect. And it left its mark on the sport, at a time when women's basketball could soon be able to capitalize on its popularity — especially with stars like Reese and Clark returning for at least one more year, and the long-awaited return of superstar point guard Paige Bueckers to UConn.
The viewership numbers from this weekend seem to provide a very obvious conclusion for television executives: women’s college basketball has never been more popular -- or more desirable as a television property. There should be a healthy competition to buy rights to the women’s NCAA tournament, if and when they become offered separately.
