Iowa vs. LSU Elite Eight Matchup Breaks Ratings Record
The Iowa vs. LSU Elite Eight matchup in women’s basketball set a new ratings record with over 12 million viewers, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. The game, a rematch between the two schools, became the most-watched show in primetime and outperformed even popular broadcast programs like “NCIS.” Iowa’s victory drew significant viewership, marking a milestone in women’s basketball broadcasting.
The Iowa and LSU Elite Eight viewer ratings set a new record for women’s basketball on Monday following the NCAA March Madness showdown in Albany, New York.
The Hawkeyes’ 94-87 surprise victory over the Tigers scored more than 12 million viewers for ESPN, drawing an even bigger crowd than the Final championship for the NCAA Women’s Basketball game last year between Iowa and LSU, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
In 2023, LSU’s 102-85 victory over the Hawkeyes set what was then an all-time ratings record on the sports network for women’s basketball, earning 9.9 million viewers across ABC and ESPN2.
However, the game on Monday — which was a rematch between the two schools — drew 12.3 million viewers on average and ended up being the most-watched show in primetime. It also beat out the biggest ratings for a program on broadcast networks, which was CBS’ “NCIS“ with 5.9 million viewers, the outlet noted.
TV Ratings: Iowa-LSU NCAA Rematch Sets All-Time Record for Women’s Basketball https://t.co/Hr6IQi4yDK
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 2, 2024
The last time a women’s basketball game got close to those numbers was more than 40 years ago in 1983 at the NCAA title game broadcast of USC’s 69-67 victory over Louisiana Tech. That game drew an audience of 11.83 million people, THR noted.
The NCAA women’s basketball showdown also was the second most-watched game of men’s and women’s tournament basketball this year, beaten out only by Sunday’s North Carolina State upset of Duke in the men’s division, which drew 15.14 million viewers on CBS.
The three other NCAA women’s Elite Eight games scored huge numbers, with the round scoring four of the five biggest women’s Elite Eight games ever, the outlet noted. South Carolina and Oregon State’s game averaged 3.1 million viewers on ABC on Sunday, while the North Carolina State and Texas matchup brought in 2.5 million.
On Monday, Connecticut’s 80-73 victory against USC, also topped all broadcast shows with about 6.7 million viewers. The average audience of the Elite Eight round was 6.2 million. The ratings for the women’s games in that round are up 184 percent over last year’s, the outlet noted.
The Hawkeyes will now travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to play the Connecticut Huskies on Friday in the Final Four round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
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