LSU vs Iowa: $12.3 Million Earnings Boosts Gabrielle Union’s Hopes for Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and More
Gabrielle Union has her hopes high for Woman's March Madness after LSU vs Iowa's historic viewership numbers surface. The LSU Tigers vs Iowa game, which was broadcast on ESPN, recorded a record-breaking 12.3 million viewers, higher than every game of the NBA last season, except game 5 of the Finals. Gabrielle Union, wife of Dwyane Wade, expressed her desire for the NCAA women athletes to be paid more. The game also outdrew every MLB game from last season. This has led Union to suggest that the next game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the UConn Huskies could see another impressive feat in viewership. ESPN recently signed a new media rights deal for women’s March Madness worth $65 million annually, a 10x increase from the previous deal. This shows the potential for female athletes in women's basketball.
Published : a month ago by Rohan Dharmalingam in Sports Finance
The LSU Tigers vs the Iowa Hawkeyes will be marked as a revolutionary game in the books of the NCAA. Reports have revealed the stunning viewership metrics of the game that was telecasted on ESPN yesterday, and it has left many on the internet in denial. Gabrielle Union, the wife of Dwyane Wade, is one of them, and after seeing the records that the game broke, she is rooting for the NCAA women athletes to get paid more.
An interesting Twitter study revealed that the LSU vs Iowa game recorded a viewership of 12.3 million, which is higher than every game of the NBA last season, except game 5 of the Finals. It also outdrew every MLB game from last season. This got Union’s attention and the Miami Heat icon’s wife tweeted, “This part. So let’s see if the $$$ follows suit “.The 49-year-old wants the female athletes to benefit from viewership development like this.
The next game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the UConn Huskies is also a much-anticipated one. If Caitlin Clark fires up the game with deep three-pointers, as she did in the Elite Eight, we might witness another impressive feat in the viewership.
On top of this, ESPN’s recent signing for Women’s March Madness shows the massive potential the female athletes hold. Let’s take a look at this multi-million which hints at the future of women’s basketball.
A detailed look into ESPN’s big signing ahead of women’s March Madness tournament
A report on Twitter revealed, “ESPN recently signed a new media rights deal for women’s March Madness worth $65 million annually — a 10x increase from the previous deal.” This is being considered a bargain after the Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese matchup yesterday made some historic numbers. Also, the media rights for the men’s tournament are in an incomparable spectrum.
The same tweet shared, “The men’s tournament receives $900 million in TV money each year, and Amazon paid the NFL $100 million last year for an exclusive regular-season game on Black Friday that averaged 9.6 million viewers.”
Iowa vs LSU just beat that by garnering 12.3 million viewers. Also, this is just one game. There are more than 60 games in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament each year. Players like Clark, Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Juju Watkins are the revolutionaries behind this impressive feat. With many stars like them leaving for the WNBA soon, the colleges have to play a bigger role in replacing them. Let’s see if the Final Four games can set another record-breaking viewership!
Topics: Louisiana State University, Academia, Basketball, Markets