The Iowa and LSU Elite Eight viewer ratings set a new record for women’s basketball on Monday following the NCAA March Madness showdown in Albany, New York.
The Hawkeyes’ 94-87 surprise victory over the Tigers scored more than 12 million viewers for ESPN, drawing an even bigger crowd than the Final championship for the NCAA Women’s Basketball game last year between Iowa and LSU, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
In 2023, LSU’s 102-85 victory over the Hawkeyes set what was then an all-time ratings record on the sports network for women’s basketball, earning 9.9 million viewers across ABC and ESPN2.
However, the game on Monday — which was a rematch between the two schools — drew 12.3 million viewers on average and ended up being the most-watched show in primetime. It also beat out the biggest ratings for a program on broadcast networks, which was CBS’ “NCIS“ with 5.9…
