A television ratings report earlier this week revealed that ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game between Iowa and Louisville garnered 2.5 million viewers. That number is higher than any NBA game broadcast on the channel this season, but 92.3 The Fan morning host Ken Carman believes that doesn’t necessarily mean the NBA is seeing a downturn on the Worldwide Leader.
“People know those NBA players, even though a lot of them are sitting on the bench, but it’s women’s basketball and we know women’s basketball gets a fraction of the love in this country,” co-host Anthony Lima said. “She’s not in the same stratosphere as those NBA guys.”
“It’s playoffs versus regular season, and I’m just not surprised,” Ken Carman countered, arguing that NBA games on a random Friday night have a different feel and energy to them compared to an Elite Eight contest.
“ESPN does a good job of promoting (the women),” Carman continued.
“Is this more about the statement of the women’s game or more of a statement about the NBA, where it has gotten stale and become an afterthought?” Lima questioned.
“Both these things can be true,” argued Carman. “The regular season in the NBA — they’re not sitting there talking about a mid-season tournament for nothing. People don’t care about the regular season, and they want people to care about the regular season. And women’s basketball is a much bigger deal than it used to be, and is a much more popular sport than it used to be.”
Carman concluded by saying that the NBA playoff games will have high television ratings, like always, and that comparisons of the two audiences simply boils down to regular season viewing against playoff viewing.
The 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on ESPN has garnered record highs this year, with first round viewership growing 27% compared to last year.
