Women's sports viewership continues its upward trajectory with the NCAA women's basketball championship game drawing over 8 million viewers and peaking at 9.8 million, per ESPN ratings. While that figure is down over 2024’s 18.5 million, it represents a longer trend of sustained growth in women’s sports viewership. This phenomenon can no longer be attributed to one single star athlete—Caitlin Clark—but to an overall increase in women’s sports popularity.
"There is still so much growth available for women's collegiate ball and professional [ball]," said Charlene Polite Corley, vice president of inclusive insights at Nielsen, on an episode of “Behind the Numbers.”
Advertisers recognize the opportunity
Women's sports are no longer a niche market but a growing segment with passionate fans who demonstrate strong brand loyalty when companies authentically support these properties. "If you're just now paying attention to the WNBA, the price of the bag has gone up,” Corley said.
Brands are taking notice of this sustained growth, with ESPN reporting ad sales for the women's college basketball tournament nearly 200% higher than last year, according to The Walt Disney Co. Those are high impact ads; WNBA fans are far more likely to engage with brands online, per Nielsen.
Women’s sports are a place advertisers can reach a diverse and economically-engaged audience.
- 43% of women’s sports fans are male, and they skew young, according to Nielsen.
- 74% of women’s sports fans earn the primary income in their households, as compared to 70% of men’s sports fans.
"When you show up and support those leagues and stars and teams that fans care about, our data actually shows that they're more likely to be an advocate for your brand, to make a purchase, to engage," Corley said.
The continued success of women's sports viewership suggests this growth is sustainable and represents a fundamental shift in sports media consumption patterns, rather than a temporary spike driven by individual stars.
Women's NCAA basketball maintains growth trajectory
While this year's women's tournament didn't match last year's record-breaking numbers driven by the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, it still showed significant growth compared to pre-Clark levels.
The championship game between UConn and South Carolina drew over 8 million viewers. When these same teams met in 2022, there were just 4.85 million viewers, demonstrating substantial long-term growth. ESPN reported that four of the top 10 most-watched Elite Eight games of all time aired this year.
"If we call last year an outlier so to speak… between this year's tournament and 2023, the games were up about 34%," Corley said.
Professional women's sports expands
Growth extends beyond college basketball. Global revenue for women's sports will reach $2.35 billion this year, up from $981 million in 2023, per Deloitte.
The WNBA has been a major beneficiary of college basketball's popularity surge, with regular season viewership growing by 170% in 2024 compared to the previous year, approaching an average audience of one million viewers per game.
Expanding access is also driving women’s sports engagement, as fans now have multiple options to follow athletes across different leagues and formats.
This expanded ecosystem includes emerging leagues like Unrivaled, a three-on-three basketball league that nearly broke even financially in its inaugural year—a rare achievement for a new sports property, Corley said. Other sports like college basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics also offer more opportunities to watch.
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