Tuned In: Caitlin Effect Persists - Front Office Sports (2025)

April 8, 2025

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Women’s college basketball is much bigger than it once was. But this year’s TV ratings paint a stark picture of where interest goes without Caitlin Clark. Can college hoops reach those heights again?

—Michael McCarthy and Ryan Glasspiegel

Women’s College Hoops Is Growing. But Caitlin Clark Was an Anomaly

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Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NCAA and its TV partner ESPN can be satisfied with viewership for this year’s Women’s Final Four. But there’s no getting around the fact that TV numbers plummeted by double digits without superstar Caitlin Clark.

The downside to the “Caitlin Clark Effect” is that women’s college hoops ratings may have peaked—and might never again reach the viewership records generated by the singular ratings magnet.

Without Clark’s stardom, this year’s women’s Final Four suffered a steep 64% drop-off in viewership, with games averaging 3.9 million viewers vs. 10.8 million last year. The same dynamic played out in the women’s championship game: UConn’s blowout win over South Carolina drew 8.5 million viewers across ABC/ESPN platforms compared to a record 18.5 million last year when Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes lost to the Gamecocks, a 55% dip.

The good news: This year’s women’s Final Four and title game were still the third-most-viewed in history across ESPN platforms dating back to 1996.

Viewership of women’s basketball is generally on the rise. But it’s becoming clear that Clark may be a TV unicorn who drives numbers like no superstar since Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

That’s why the new Unrivaled league offered the WNBA Rookie of the Year a Lionel Messi–like offer. That’s why Clark’s Indiana Fever will play in 41 nationally televised or streamed games this season vs. 32 for Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart’s defending-champion New York Liberty.

“She could be a one of one,” said sports TV ratings expert Douglas Pucci of Programming Insider. “She could really be unique in that respect. It could be a concern. Maybe women’s colleges won’t ever get to the level of viewership we saw for last year’s final. But if we had a better game on Sunday, I think reaching 10 million would have been easy.”

There’s precedent for Clark’s effect on college TV ratings. The 1979 men’s national championship game pitting Larry Bird’s Indiana State against Magic Johnson’s Michigan State drew a record 35.1 million viewers on NBC. The rivalry between Clark and Angel Reese of LSU drew comparisons to Bird-Magic.

For more on Caitlin Clark’s audience impact and whether college hoops can recreate it, read Michael McCarthy’s full story here.

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Brock Huard Stepping Aside From Fox Sports College Football Booth

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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Brock Huard revealed he is leaving the Fox Sports college football announcing booth to be present for his son Titus’s high school football years.

“I’m going to be the tight ends coach at Valor Christian High School,” Huard said on the Real Hawk Talk podcast. Huard will be working under Mike Sanford, who’s been offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Boise State, Minnesota, and Colorado.

Huard joined Fox from ESPN in 2019. He has been paired with Jason Benetti on the network’s No. 2 announce team; Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt are in the top booth. Huard also works on UFL games for Fox, and is a cohost of Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports 710 AM.

“I’m going to learn a lot of football,” Huard continued on the podcast. “I told him, for 18 years I’ve been in reaction mode. So much of my radio show, so much on game day. Yeah, I project, and I try to see how the game’s unfolding. But most of it is just reacting. [I’m] kind of excited and anxious to see what it’s like on the other side, to prepare, to be in ‘go mode’ from the coaching end of it—and learn a lot. I think I’ll be a better broadcaster, I think the radio show will be better.”

Huard reiterated he is leaving the college football booth but that he’s “kept the door open” to do some NFL games. “I’d like to still do [announcing] down the road, but for these years, these formative years, my son’s gonna be a sophomore. These are years I’ll never, ever, ever get back—and I’m gonna jump into it,” Huard said.

Huard played quarterback at the University of Washington and was picked in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Seahawks. He made four starts for Seattle in 2000, and he was later a backup for Peyton Manning on the Colts.

It was not immediately clear who will be replacing Huard in the announce booth. A Fox Sports spokesperson declined to comment.

Zach Lowe Could Land TV/Streaming Deal on Top of Ringer Job

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The Ringer / YouTube

The Zach Lowe sweepstakes might just be getting started.

Lowe’s new deal with The Ringer is non-exclusive, a source tells Front Office Sports, meaning Lowe is still free to pursue new TV or streaming gigs outside The Ringer and parent company Spotify.

The basketball writer, podcaster, and analyst might have multiple media opportunities. With its 11-year, $77 billion media-rights deal, the NBA is adding new media-rights partners Amazon Prime Video and NBC Sports to its roster next season, alongside incumbents ESPN (U.S.) and TNT Sports (international).

Prime and NBC have been on a hiring spree as they staff up to cover The Association in the 2025–2026 season. Prime hired Taylor Rooks to host its studio coverage, along with Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki. NBC has hired Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as game analysts to work with play-by-play announcers Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle.

Lowe’s old podcast, The Lowe Post, was one of the most popular sources for NBA analysis and interviews. After his surprising layoff from ESPN in September with around a year left on his contract, Lowe went dark. Now he’s back in a big way. His new video podcast, The Zach Lowe Show, launched this week. In an Instagram post, Lowe promised to drop new episodes every Monday and Thursday via Spotify and his new YouTube channel, which already has 21,000 followers.

“He’s not a former player, but he drives the conversation,” said one source of Lowe.

If Lowe does end up working for multiple sports media companies, he would just be the latest example of a growing trend. Traditionally, only play-by-play announcers worked for multiple networks, while most other talents were exclusive to one network or media company. Not anymore.

Kirk Herbstreit works for both ESPN and Prime, Charissa Thompson hosts for Prime and Fox Sports, and Michael Strahan works for both ABC and Fox. Don’t forget the unique arrangement a few seasons ago, in which ESPN and Fox shared the services of former slugger Alex Rodriguez. More recently, Stephen A. Smith signed a five-year, $100 million ESPN extension that gives him the freedom to appear on other networks like Fox News and operate his owned-and-operated production company.

As one source tells me: “Stephen A. Smith can do whatever he wants, right? … The bigger you are, the more flexibility they give you, because they want to make you happy.”

Lowe and Spotify could not be reached for comment.

Around the Dial

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

ESPN will put on a full-court press to cover Luka Dončić’s return to Dallas on Wednesday night. The network will have its top NBA team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson, and Lisa Salters call Lakers vs. Mavericks. Team reporters Dave McMenamin (Lakers) and Tim MacMahon (Mavericks) will provide on-site coverage.
Shannon Sharpe’s Shay Shay Media and the Atlanta Hawks are partnering for the distribution of the podcast Hawks AF, hosted by Atlanta comedian and entertainer D.C. Young Fly. “As a Georgia native, I’ve seen firsthand how Atlanta has grown into a hub for sports, music, and entertainment,” Sharpe said in a statement. “Credit to the Hawks for capturing that cultural dialogue with Hawks AF. We look forward to working with D.C. Young Fly and the Atlanta Hawks organization to bring their phenomenal content to an even wider audience.”
The Sports Emmy Awards nominations were released Tuesday. Some interesting notes: Both father Ian Eagle and son Noah Eagle are nominated for Best Play-by-Play. Upcoming TV free agents Dan Orlovsky of ESPN and Scott Hanson of NFL Network are nominated for Best Studio Analyst and Studio Host, respectively. And ESPN’s Jason Kelce drew a nomination for Emerging On-Air Talent.
The Yankees and YES Network are planning a new docuseries dubbed The Stadium that shows viewers what goes on behind the scenes at Yankee Stadium before the gates open to fans. The first episode premieres Monday, April 14.
Yankees play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay was baffled during a broadcast that the Pirates didn’t do more in the offseason to build around Paul Skenes.
Longtime former ESPN behind-the-scenes newsman Chuck Salituro has joined FanDuel Sports Network as an editorial consultant for Norby Williamson. Salituro was the sports editor at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and joined ESPN in the mid-1990s as an editor on the news desk, eventually working with the league insiders and later as the “opinionist editor” in which talent like Stephen A. Smith, Tony Kornheiser, Dan Le Batard, Skip Bayless, and Keith Olbermann vetted their takes with him to make sure their facts were on solid ground.