
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most Watched Hoops Broadcast of Any Kind Since 2019 The audience was up 90% year-over-year and 289% from 2022 and is the most-watched basketball game (college or pro, men's or women's) in five years. By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 - 2:32 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With final Nielsen reporting completed, Sunday's epic title bout between No. 1 women's seeds Iowa and South Carolina scored 18.9 million viewers, becoming the most-viewed women's college basketball game ever and ESPN platforms' most-viewed college basketball game (men's or women's) on record. The showdown peaked at 24.1 million viewers in the game's final 15 minutes as South Carolina stormed to their second NCAA trophy in three years.
The NCAA Women's Basketball Championship is now the second most-watched non-Olympic women's sporting event ever on U.S. television behind the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final between the U.S. and Japan. Sunday's Championship clash between the Hawkeyes and Gamecocks is the most-watched annual sporting event - excluding football - across all networks since 2019. The audience was up 90% year-over-year and 289% from 2022 and is the most-watched basketball game (college or pro, men's or women's) in five years.
Leading into the history-making matchup, the one-hour NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Special delivered 2.9 million viewers. ESPN's post-game studio programming averaged 1.4 million viewers as the Gamecocks lifted the NCAA trophy and cut down the nets in Cleveland. SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt immediately following the National Semifinals drew 6.3 million viewers, the most-viewed SVP edition of SportsCenter on record.
The fan-favorite Bird & Taurasi Show Presented by AT&T recorded the largest championship game audience in its three-year history with 1.4 million viewers on ESPN. The offering is the second most-watched alternate telecast for a college event on ESPN platforms, just behind Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show from the 2024 Rose Bowl Game.
The three-game 2024 NCAA Women's Final Four in Cleveland was the most-viewed Women's Final Four on record, averaging 13.8 million viewers. The trio of games was up 114% year-over-year and 299% higher than 2022.
The National Semifinals notched 11 million viewers, the most watched on record. Friday's matchups were up 142% year-over-year and 307% from 2022. Iowa-UConn finished with 14.4 million viewers, the second most-watched women's college basketball game on record and ESPN's most-watched basketball game (college or pro, men's or women's) on record. The high-octane showdown between the Hawkeyes and Huskies peaked at 17.3 million viewers and is also the most-watched college event ever on ESPN+. The late semifinal was up 156% over 2023's late semifinal between Iowa and South Carolina. The early semifinal featuring NC State and South Carolina finished with 7.2 million viewers, the most-watched early National Semifinal on record and an increase of 108% year-over-year. The Clash of the Carolinas peaked with 9.1 million viewers.
A complete look at the viewership records set across ESPN platforms during NCAA Women's March Madness and the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship will be released on Wednesday.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
16/07/2026
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2026 F...
16/07/2026
More interfaces now compatible with Focusrite Control 2 Your Focusrite interface might now be compatible with a public beta support of Focusrite Control 2. If...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
16/07/2026
Together the semi-finals had a combined reach of 1.98 million unique individuals...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...