What are the next steps for women's college basketball after title game drew 18.9 million?

South Carolina’s 87-75 victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the women’s NCAA championship game averaged 18.9 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, making it the second most-watched non-Olympic women’s sporting event on U.S. television.

The audience for Sunday's game — where the Gamecocks capped an undefeated season by winning their fourth national title and denied Clark’s Hawkeyes their first — peaked at 24.1 million during the final 15 minutes.The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan averaged 25.4 million on Fox. That also was on a Sunday and took place in prime time on the East Coast.

“You’re seeing the growth in many places: attendance records, viewership and social media engagement surrounding March Madness,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I don’t think you can attribute it just to Iowa, though. A rising tide does lifts all boats. But I think all those boats have been on many different waterways. The product is really good, and the increase of exposure is getting rewarded.”

Nielsen’s numbers include an estimate of the number of people who watched outside their homes, which wasn’t measured before 2020. Due to cord-cutting, the in-home audience has steadily declined annually.