Women’s NCAA Basketball National Title Game Bests Men’s Game in Ratings; What Services Are Best for Streaming Women’s Sports?

The nets have been cut down, and the confetti is all swept up. The 2024 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments have ended, and this year saw the Women’s national title game achieve a feat that has never been seen before. It drew 18.9 million viewers on average, nearly double the record-setting audience from the 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament national championship and beating the ratings for the Men’s championship for the first time in history.

• The NCAA Men’s March Madness final drew 14.82 million viewers, over 4 million fewer than the Women’s final.
• The audience for the Women’s March Madness championship game peaked at 24.1 million viewers.
• Fans can watch women’s sports on ESPN+, Paramount+, Prime Video and other platforms.

Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes were unable to overcome the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game, but audiences continued to be spellbound by Clark’s quest for a title. The game’s audience size of 18.9 million on ABC and ESPN+ was more than 4 million viewers larger than the segment which tuned in to watch the Men’s national championship; the contest between UConn and Purdue on TNT, TBS, truTV and Max pulled in 14.82 million viewers.

Never before has the women’s national title game beaten the men’s in ratings. Its ratings peaked at 24.1 million viewers during the game’s final minutes, and the fact that the game would be Clark’s last game in college no doubt contributed to its audience size. But according to UCLA coach Cori Close, there are more factors than just Clark’s popularity at play.

“You’re seeing the growth in many places: attendance records, viewership and social media engagement surrounding March Madness,” Close told the Associated Press. “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.”

Where Can You Stream Other Women’s Sports?

Ratings for women’s sports are continuing to rise globally, and streaming platforms give viewers more ways to watch than ever before. Streamers let audiences engage with their favorite sport in a more interactive way, and streamers now provide an impressive lineup of women’s sports at every competition level.

ESPN+ carried the NCAA Women’s Basketball national championship in 2023 as well as 2024, and that barely scratches the surface of its women’s sports offerings. It offers women’s track and field, softball, field hockey, soccer, gymnastics and more at the collegiate level, with schools from every major conference appearing. The streamer also carries pro soccer matches from the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League), and select WNBA games also stream on ESPN+ every season. ESPN+ is also responsible for distributing 14 women’s basketball, softball and volleyball games from Athletes Unlimited in the 2024 season.

Prime Video recently announced a new deal with the WNBA for that league’s Commissioner’s Cup championship game. The deal sends 21 total games per season to Prime Video, which also hosts Seattle Storm games each year for Seattle-area fans. Prime Video also gets 27 Friday-night NWSL matches per season, starting this year.

Peacock carries women’s basketball games from the Big Ten each season, and offers a wide range of events featuring women athletes, from swimming to cycling to snow sports. NBC/Peacock are also responsible for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and as part of that coverage Peacock will offer every single women’s (and men’s) event of the games on its platform. Outside of ESPN+, Peacock offers the widest variety of women’s sports of any streaming platform.

Paramount+ also got a piece of the recent NWSL deal, scoring up to 12 games per season from the league to stream as well as air on the CBS broadcast network. The streamer also hosts the Golazo Network, which streams the women’s soccer-focused podcast “Attacking Third” podcast which follows the NWSL, the U.S. Women’s National Team and more.

Max doesn’t offer much in the way of women’s sports, but it is the best on-demand streaming subscription to have for fans of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Select USWNT matches play on Max at several different points in the year, including the SheBelieves Cup, World Cup qualifiers and friendlies.