Iowa's Final Four matchup was ESPN’s most-watched basketball game ever as women’s sports shatter records

She shoots, she scores… Caitlin Clark and the Iowa squad lost the NCAA women’s-basketball championship to South Carolina on Sunday, but they took home the gold for ESPN. The US’s leading sports network said a record 14.2M people saw Iowa take down UConn on Friday. The women’s Final Four matchup was the most-watched bball game in ESPN’s 45-year history.

• The women’s Final Four game beat an ESPN viewership record set in 2018 during Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals between the Cleveland Cavs and Boston Celtics.

Come for the game… stay for the TikTok edits. Women’s sports are having a viral moment as younger gens tune in more than ever before. Just over half of American adults spent some time watching or following women’s sports in the past year. For years, women athletes’ pay and sponsorships have trailed men’s, and the games didn’t usually draw as much ad spend. But as viewership soars, media coverage of women’s sports has nearly tripled since 2019, and more $$ is pouring in: 

• ESPN owner Disney said it sold out of ad spots for this year’s women’s March Madness Final Four and championship rounds, doubling women’s-tournament revenue from last year.

• Paid out: In January, ESPN and the NCAA renewed their broadcast deal for another eight years, valuing the women’s tournament at $65M/yr — 10X more than the current deal.