The Caitlin Clark Effect

With ratings showing that about 19 million viewers tuned in for this year’s women’s college basketball finals, women’s basketball’s popularity is undeniable. As ESPN reporter Alexa Philippou puts it, the sport is impossible to ignore, especially when comparing its viewership to other sports.

On this week’s Inside the Hive, host Brian Stelter is joined by Philippou and Vanity Fair contributing editor Tom Kludt to examine a sport seemingly at an inflection point and surging in interest at both the college and pro levels. “When I think back to the Final Four last year in Dallas—that really felt like someone hit a button that was exponential growth,” Philippou recounts. “And it’s really seemed to be noticeably different since then.” 

The group discusses women’s college stars who have helped drive enthusiasm for the game and become household names in a way that hasn’t happened on the men’s side, citing the rise of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese (not to mention coach Dawn Staley). Previously, college athletes couldn’t capitalize or profit off their name, image, or likeness. When the NCAA ended that policy almost three years ago, it really changed the landscape of college sports. We saw women’s stars everywhere last season, as Clark landed deals with Nike, Gatorade, and State Farm.

The group also reflects on challenges inside women’s basketball and women’s sports more broadly, particularly with how record viewership still hasn’t led to parity in TV money. “The disparity was well-documented,” says Kludt. “But again, you see data points and metrics showing that, not only can the women’s game compete with the men’s game, it actually eclipses it.”

The WNBA draft is Monday, a critical moment for the league. The Indiana Fever is expected to draft Caitlin Clark with the number one overall pick, and Kludt notes she could easily be “a galvanizing force.” Last fall’s WNBA finals between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces “felt like a cultural shift,” says Kludt, citing the celebrities courtside at the games, including LeBron James. “And so now, you throw in someone like Caitlin Clark, who’s already a household name, who’s not only the biggest women’s college basketball star we’ve seen in generations, she’s really, truly one of the biggest collegiate stars, period, we’ve seen in years.”

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