re: NCAA Women's Championship ratings did really well

1. It is not a bad thing the popularity of WBB "may" be growing. It was the first WBB game I watched from start to finish in a long time...maybe ever. But it does appear there is some manipulation of the data to back an agenda there was a massive increase in popularity.

2. A big part of the 103% increase is that for the first time in nearly 30 years the game was broadcast on network TV (ABC) instead of cable. That made a HUGE impact on the ratings. Don't think so? The second most watched game was the 1995 championship game between UConn and Tenn. "Coincidentally" that was the last time the game was broadcast on network TV (CBS) before Sunday. Also, it appears that 9.9M number is COMBINED viewership on ABC and ESPN2. Now, it is entirely likely that number would have been the same had the game just been shown on ABC if you believe the people watching on ESPN2 would have just found the game on ABC had it not been simulcast on ESPN2. But it is a point of clarification.

Below is a chart of the championship game ratings from 1995-2023. As noted above, it is bookended by the last two games shown on network TV...which are the two highest rated games. In between the ratings (on average) generally were in the high 3M - 4.5M ranger over the course of 26 years.

Is the sport growing in popularity? Probably. Are the ratings this year indicative a sudden massive increase in interest? Probably not. It's more likely a case of compiling the data in a manner to reflect such a position.