8.6 million people watched the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship Game at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon on ABC, making it the third most-watched title game ever on ESPN platforms. However, despite the massive success of this year’s tournament, there’s been a lot of chatter about that number, with some claiming it “isn’t good” simply because it doesn’t match the 18.9 million viewers who tuned in for last year’s final. But if that’s your only takeaway from 2025 women’s March Madness, you’re missing the bigger picture. 

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Focusing on one metric in isolation ignores the undeniable, multi-year growth story of women’s basketball. By the numbers, business is booming, showing gains up and to the right across nearly every category: viewership, engagement, attendance, search interest, and cultural relevance. Women’s basketball isn’t just holding steady, it’s accelerating.

Since so many people seem to be hung up on the broadcast numbers, let’s start with the ratings and put the 2025 numbers in context within the larger growth story of women’s basketball. ESPN’s Selection Sunday broadcast drew 1.7 million viewers, the second most-watched since 2005. Fans consumed 1.2 billion minutes of content during the First Round of the tournament alone, the second-highest total ever. The Sweet Sixteen averaged 1.7 million viewers, a 39% jump from 2023, with four of the top 10 most-watched Sweet Sixteen games in history played this year. The Elite Eight? Averaged 2.9 million viewers, the second most-watched on record. The Final Four games had 3.6 million and 4.1 million viewers respectively. And finally, fans consumed 8.5 billion minutes of content on ESPN platforms during the entirety of the tournament, the second highest in history. 

Yes, broadcast ratings are important – but they are not the full picture – especially in the social-first, digital world we live in today. And with that, it’s important to understand that the traction of women’s basketball isn’t confined to traditional, linear TV. Today’s sports fans (especially women’s sports fans) are more digitally savvy than ever, turning to social media and streaming platforms for highlights and real-time content. In the spaces outside of linear TV, women’s basketball is thriving.

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According to Zoomph, UConn generated 48.4 million impressions and 2.7 million engagements through the Elite Eight, outperforming every team in the men’s tournament except for Duke. Opendorse reported that the cumulative social following of women’s March Madness athletes was three times larger than that of their male counterparts. Finally, Google searches for women’s March Madness surged 75,966% during the final week of the tournament – compared to a 14,861% increase for the men’s tournament. 

Before the 2025 tournament tipped off, plenty of skeptics questioned whether women’s college basketball could sustain its momentum without Caitlin Clark. After all, there’s no denying that Clark was the primary headline and the highlight of the sport for the past two years. But by the numbers, the audience didn’t disappear; it stayed strong. Sure, 8.6 million is less than the record-setting 18.9 million who tuned in last year, but let’s be clear: 8.6 million is still an extraordinary result, especially for a Sunday afternoon time slot. That number doesn’t suggest decline – it signals staying power.

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It also underscores just how unique the “Caitlin Clark Effect” really is. Last year’s title game was a perfect storm: a generational talent on the biggest stage that women’s March Madness had ever seen. Clark isn’t just another star of the game; ​​she quickly became America’s favorite athlete – male or female. According to Morning Consult, Clark received the most mentions in an open-ended survey of fans naming their favorite active players. Clark was mentioned more than men’s sports stars like Lebron James, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Steph Curry and more. She is undeniably one of the most popular athletes in the world – her participation should skew numbers. A similar comparison would be how Taylor Swift (one of the most famous people in the world) helped bump-up the NFL’s ratings. No one is saying that the NFL needs Taylor Swift in order to be popular, but her connection to the league has helped bring in more fans. The same same logic applies to Clark and women’s basketball. Yes, Clark absolutely lifted the game, but the popularity of the game is not dependent on Clark’s participation. The results of the 2025 tournament prove that women’s basketball will continue to soar even without Clark directly in the mix. 

8.6 million viewers isn’t a step back; it’s a leap forward. When you zoom out and consider the full picture, the 2025 women’s tournament wasn’t a letdown. It was confirmation: confirmation that the fanbase didn’t disappear when Caitlin Clark walked off the court, and confirmation that women’s basketball has matured beyond a moment and into a larger movement. 

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The audience has arrived. The demand is here. And the momentum is unmistakable. Stars like Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Kiki Iriafen – and coaches like Dawn Staley, Niele Ivey, and Geno Auriemma – continue to elevate the game with each season. 

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So don’t let a misleading headline or a singular metric distort the full pictures of facts. The next time someone tries to downplay what 8.6 million viewers means, remind them: women’s basketball didn’t peak in 2024. It took off. And in 2025, it proved it’s here to stay.

Caroline Fitzgerald is a contributing writer for TOGETHXR.com and a leading expert in women’s sports business and gender equity. A Sports Business Journal "2024 Power Player in Women's Sports," she covers the forces shaping the industry’s next era of growth.

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