BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) – Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn In women The Final Four Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched women’s basketball game on record and the most for an ESPN basketball broadcast.
Previous women’s hoops mark 12.3 million. for last Monday’s Iowa-LSU game in the Elite Eight. Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals between Cleveland and Boston was ESPN’s most-watched basketball game at 13.51 million.
That makes it one of the most-watched games in any sport other than college football and the NFL over the past two years. Last year’s NCAA men’s title game between San Diego State and UConn averaged 14.79 million.
The Hawkeyes game, which peaked at 17 million viewers, will likely go down as one of the top 50 prime-time telecasts of 2024. It was ranked 32nd in last year’s list.
It is also ESPN’s second-highest audience for a non-football broadcast. The United States vs. Portugal match averaged 18.22 million during group play at the 2014 Men’s World Cup.
The last NBA game to draw at least 14 million was Golden State’s title-clinching victory over Boston in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals (14.22 million).
Clarke’s five March Madness Games averaged 8.3 million on ESPN and ABC. Iowa will face South Carolina for the national championship Sunday afternoon on ABC.
South Carolina’s 78-59 win over North Carolina State Averaging 7.1 million viewers, it became the third most-watched women’s national semifinal since record-keeping began in 1992.
The previous record for most-watched semifinal was Stanford vs. Virginia on CBS in 1992 (8.1 million).
Friday’s two games averaged 10.8 million viewers, a 138% increase from last year.
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AP March Madness Bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ And coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Credit : apnews.com
