Iowa-LSU Rematch Shatters Records with 12.3M Viewers

The Iowa-LSU Women’s Game, a highly anticipated rematch of last year’s national championship game, drew a staggering 12.3 million viewers, setting a new record for women’s college basketball viewership. ESPN, the broadcaster, announced the record-breaking viewership on Tuesday, highlighting the game’s historic significance.

The game, which took place on Monday night in Albany, New York, saw Iowa emerge victorious over LSU with a score of 94-87. The standout performance of the game came from Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who scored an impressive 41 points, further solidifying her reputation as one of college basketball’s brightest stars.

This viewership milestone surpassed the previous record set by last year’s championship game, which averaged 9.9 million viewers and peaked at 12.6 million. The championship game, which aired on ABC, saw LSU defeat Iowa with a score of 102-85.

What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that the Iowa-LSU game attracted more viewers than both the average viewership of last year’s World Series, which had an average of 9.1 million viewers per game, and the average of the 2023 NBA Finals, which drew an average of 11.64 million viewers per game.

Looking ahead, all eyes are now on the Final Four matchups. Last year’s women’s semifinal between Iowa and South Carolina drew an average of 5.5 million viewers. This year, the first game of the Final Four will see South Carolina facing off against North Carolina State at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by Iowa taking on Connecticut at 9:30 p.m. ET.

In a surprising revelation, ticket prices for the women’s Final Four and championship games were found to be higher, on average, than tickets for the men’s counterparts. According to secondary market data from ticket sales company TicketiQ, the average resale price for this year’s women’s semifinals was $1,994, compared to $1,603 for the men’s semifinals.

In another positive development for women’s basketball, ESPN announced that this year’s women’s Sweet 16 was the most-watched on record, with viewership up 96% from last year. The Sweet 16 games featured four of the five most-watched women’s Sweet 16 games on record, with the matchup between Colorado and Iowa drawing 6.9 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched women’s basketball games since 1995.