If you look closely at the coaches of NCAA Women’s Basketball during games recently, you’ll likely see many of them donning a shirt with the message: “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.” While at its core a dig at diminutive comments against women’s athletics and their cultural relevance, the T-shirts’ message is becoming more true by the day. In 2024, we saw tremendous growth in the viewership of NCAA Women’s Basketball, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Forbes reports that total viewership for the NWSL reached 18.7 million last season, five times higher than in the previous season, and the WNBA garnered a 170% increase in viewership on ESPN platforms compared to 2023. Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship brought a 90% increase in broadcast numbers and was the most-watched annual sporting event besides football since 2019. This growth is expected to continue this year; according to ESPN, women’s sports are projected to earn $2.35 billion globally in 2025, an increase of 25% from 2024. These numbers mark the inception of a new era of sports culture, one in which the astonishing athleticism and talent of female athletes is being appreciated and enjoyed by the general public.
There are certain major factors that have helped boost the viewership of women’s athletics as of late. One of these factors has become known as the “Caitlin Clark Effect.” Clark rose as a record-breaking star during her four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team. Her domination, which swiftly made her an American household name, alongside her rivalry with Louisiana State’s Angel Reese, brought record-breaking viewership to her games. The 2024 championship between Iowa and South Carolina racked up 18.9 million viewers, deeming it ESPN’s most-watched college basketball game in history. This trailblazing was not without precedent, though. Former women’s college basketball stars set the stage for Clark’s rise to dominance, like Rebecca Lobo of the University of Connecticut and Candace Parker of Tennessee.
The recent growth in attention towards women’s athletics is benefitting not only the industry as a whole, but also providing opportunities for individual athletes through Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies and social media followings. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, for example, has garnered a net worth of $4 million through brand deals and a social media following of 13.6 million people. Beyond the financial element, however, the social implications of increased visibility of women’s athletics are immeasurable. Women’s sports empower and honor women, so greater respect for the practice as a whole provides hope for a progressing country that is slowly but surely cracking the glass ceiling.
Sources:
Forbes: “Women’s Sports 2024: From the Caitlin Clark Effect to Record Interest and Viewership” by Lindsey Darvin https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindseyedarvin/2024/12/18/womens-sports-2024-review-from-the-caitlin-clark-effect-to-a-new-industry-benchmark/
New York Times: “The Rise of Women’s Basketball” by Claire Fahy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/briefing/womens-basketball.html
ESPN: “Report: 2025 women’s ports revenue projected to hit $2.35B” https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/44402483/2025-women-sports-revenue-projected-hit-235b