COLUMBIA, S.C. — The national championship game between South Carolina and Iowa is now the highest-rated women's college basketball game of all-time.
ESPN said Monday that preliminary data showed there were 18.7 million viewers for Sunday afternoon's broadcast, with a peak of 24.1 million. The numbers could rise again Tuesday when final numbers from Nielsen come in.
South Carolina defeated Iowa 87-75 in a game that had been heavily anticipated, featuring an undefeated Gamecocks team and the all-time leading scorer in basketball history, Iowa's Caitlin Clark.
It's the third time in a just over a week that a women's basketball record rating was set. On April 1, 12.3 million watched LSU-Iowa, and last Friday, 14.2 million watched UConn and Iowa.
Sunday's game is now the most watched men's or women's game since 2019, and that was for the men's national title. Only the Olympics and football games have gotten higher ratings in that time frame.
For perspective, ratings are up 89 percent from last year's final and 285 percent from 2022.
"With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday's Iowa-South Carolina title game was fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament," said Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN. "These exceptional athletes, coaches, and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it's incumbent on all of us to keep the momentum going."
The City of Columbia announced Monday they will host a championship parade for the team on Sunday at 2 p.m. It will take place along Main Street in downtown.