One Shining Moment: Caitlin Clark Breaks TV Records
A few months ago, we discussed how apparel brands were hedging their bets that a WNBA star would be its next big signature shoe deal.
We found the star, but she’s still in college.
Caitlin Clark scored 41 points to lead Iowa to a 94-87 win over the defending champions, the LSU Tigers.
Iowa’s win over LSU shattered previous viewership records, averaging 12.3MM viewers and peaking at 16MM viewers. To compare, that is:
- More than every NBA game last season outside of Game 5 of the Finals
- Higher than every MLB game
- More than all but five college football matchups
The interest in the Iowa vs. LSU game shows that female athletes can draw crowds that are similar to the men’s game at a fraction of the cost. The NCAA signed a TV contract with ESPN that values the women’s tournament at $65MM annually, significantly less than the $900MM Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery paid to televise the men’s tournament on CBS and the Turner cable networks.
Brands see these trends and are adjusting quickly. According to a Sports Innovation Lab report, on average, brands spent about 9% of their total media budgets on women’s sports in 2023, and 83% said they planned to increase that spending in 2024.
