In the days leading up to March Madness, Iowa women’s star Caitlin Clark claimed there was more interest in the women’s tournament than the men’s.
The numbers don’t seem to bear that out.
“People are more excited about the women’s side than the men’s side, and I think that’s obviously something that’s really never been the case before,” Clark told reporters. “It’s cool to see how it’s evolved.”
"People are more excited about the women's side than the men's side, and I think that's obviously something that's really never been the case before."
— THE SHIFT (@theshift_sports) March 24, 2024
This quote from Caitlin Clark about this year's March Madness 👀 (🎥: @BlakeHornTV) pic.twitter.com/Swefo0BDZA
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The Ratings For NCAA Basketball Are In
There’s no denying an uptick in interest in the women’s NCAA tournament. And Clark is a huge part of that, having come off a record-setting season.
But the ratings seem to suggest there is still a wide gap between interest in men’s and women’s games.
Outkick’s Clay Travis posted some of these numbers to the X social media platform. He notes that “The men’s NCAA Tournament first & second rounds outdrew the women’s first & second rounds by a 10-1 margin.”
Travis also explained that the Michigan State-UNC game – tops among the men – “more than doubled” the top Iowa game. Thus, Clark’s claim seems to be unfounded.
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The Media Wanted So Badly For You To Believe The Hype
Look, I’m not trying to pick on Caitlin Clark by any stretch of the imagination. The top women’s basketball player in the nation – or at least the top draw – should hype up her games and product.
But, as Travis points out, the media also wanted you to believe the hype.
“Writers at the WSJ, ESPN, the NYT and other woke media outlets all asserted as fact that sports fans cared more about women’s basketball than men’s and that the women might well outdraw the men,” Travis writes. “It was total lunacy.”
The men’s side of the NCAA tournament actually saw record ratings on tap until a host of blowouts on Sunday squashed the momentum.
That’s still above last year’s numbers. And this, even though there is less star power and the quality of play has been on the downslide for years.
The big story is actually that the NCAA basketball ratings continue to rise while the NBA, despite having star names, is sinking.
“The men’s sport just set an all time viewership high for the history of the first two rounds. Far from being eclipsed by the women, the men’s tournament has actually never been more popular,” Travis says.
“If we had an honest sports media, you’d see a ton of deep dives on why men’s and women’s college basketball is setting all-time audience records while the NBA audience collapses.”
And he’s right. According to Sports Business Journal, viewership for Clark’s final home game drew 4.9 million viewers.
“Just for context,” they write. “4.9 million viewers for Iowa-West Virginia tops four of the five NBA games on Christmas Day this season (and almost topped the 5 million for Celtics-Lakers).”
But to the original point, it still does not compare to the men’s college basketball ratings.
“In terms of comparing to men’s games during the first and second rounds this year, Iowa-WVU would be No. 16, just behind 5.2 million for James Madison-Wisconsin on CBS on Friday night.”
That’s not more interest. It’s some interest, but definitely not more.
