Despite not having yet made it to the professional ranks, Caitlin Clark is one of the most well-known figures in American athletics. One of the greatest collegiate basketball players of all time, the former Iowa Hawkeyes guard has entered the 2024 WNBA draft. Her recent celebrity has drawn a great deal of attention to her. Her last three basketball games actually brought in more views than Formula One did in the United States over the entire previous year.
Over the past week, Clark participated in three significant NCAA games.
The final between Iowa and South Carolina drew 18 million viewers, whereas their earlier games against UConn and LSU drew 14.2 and 12.2 million viewers, respectively, according to Entertainment Strategy Guy. In the US, viewers of the final three NCAA games between Iowa and Clark accounted for approximately 44 million viewers in total.
There will never be another @CaitlinClark22 & there will never be another 2️⃣2️⃣.
The #Hawkeyes will retire Clark's No. 22. pic.twitter.com/bTyWRXwJir
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 10, 2024
F1 was unable to replicate this amount of views for the entire year 2023. A total of 22 races on the schedule do not even come close to reaching the 44 million viewers that each event averaged.
This can be interpreted in two ways. Women’s basketball is reaching unprecedented heights in the US and around the globe thanks to the incredible Caitlin Clark. She is expected to be the first draft pick in the WNBA, and her presence there will undoubtedly improve the league.
Nonetheless, it provides insight into the decline in F1’s American audience. F1 won’t be pleased with the amount of viewers attending races in the nation, despite the fact that it is still a promising market with enormous growth potential.