Iowa-UConn women's Final Four match was most-watched hoops game in ESPN history; 14.2M avg. viewers
Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn at the women’s Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Iowa's 71-69 victory over UConn at the women's Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women's basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast.
The previous women's hoops mark was 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 also makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other than college football and the NFL over the past couple years. Last year's NCAA men's title game between San Diego State and UConn averaged 14.79 million.
The Hawkeyes game, which saw the audience peak at 17 million, will likely go down as one of the top 50 primetime telecasts of 2024. It would have finished 32nd on last year's list.
