• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

Women’s March Madness Is Making Stars in the ESPN Studio, Too

  • Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, and Andraya Carter host the network’s studio show for women’s college basketball.
  • The trio is drawing praise from fans as more people tune in to the women’s games.
Courtesy ESPN

It’s not just the players and coaches in women’s college basketball having a moment. ESPN’s studio show is drawing rave reviews as the women’s NCAA tournament is exploding in popularity.

The trio of Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, and Andraya Carter were widely praised for their funny and expert analysis in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, especially as the NCAA bumbled through an incorrectly painted court.

“Social media can be really nasty,” Duncan tells Front Office Sports. “So sometimes I’m like, ‘Is this a setup? Everybody’s being so nice.’”

As fans took to social media to comment on Hailey Van Lith’s difficulty guarding Caitlin Clark on Monday night, the love poured in for the analysts. Boston Globe sports reporter Ethan Fuller called them “immediately the best studio crew in basketball” in a post, while Chicago Sky player Brianna Turner posted that she wasn’t sure whether she was “more excited for the games or the halftime report.” One fan jokingly referred to them as the three branches of the U.S. government.

“If you’re talking about us, that means you’re talking about women’s basketball. And ultimately, that’s the win,” Duncan says.

Duncan, a SportsCenter anchor and ESPN host since 2016, says she hasn’t received this amount of media attention since she shared a conversation she had with Kobe Bryant about being a “girl dad” in the wake of the superstar’s death.

But that attention came from something tragic and was fundamentally about Bryant. Now Duncan and the studio crew are emerging as Inside the NBA–level stars. Ogwumike and Carter dap each other up on the air. When Duncan counts them down to predict a second-half x-factor at the same time, the duo says the same thing. Carter pulls out chopsticks and mimics “surgery” to explain Clark’s prowess.

While Duncan won’t compare herself to Ernie Johnson, she says their roles of facilitating conversation, adding context, and setting up analysts for success are similar. You can find her opinions on the Elle Duncan Show podcast or Around the Horn, but in the women’s college basketball studio show, she’s allowing the other women on the desk to tell her “where they want the basketball” and feeding it to them.

“For me, the satisfaction comes from the fact that people are getting to see these people be themselves,” Duncan says. “If there’s anything that I hope that any future broadcasters, current broadcasters, or whatever are watching, it’s that you can be you.”

In women’s sports, the talent has always been there, but getting investment has always felt like an “appeal to people’s morality,” Duncan says. Now, it’s just smart business, especially with soaring viewership and record-breaking attendance this postseason. Duncan says she hopes these numbers pale in comparison to future ones, and that fans continue to follow these players beyond their college careers. “I hope that this is not basketball’s zenith,” she says.

ESPN got very lucky that Iowa didn’t get knocked out in its difficult regional, but in the game where it felt closest against West Virginia, the Hawkeyes drew nearly 5 million viewers. The Sweet 16 game against Colorado got close to 7 million viewers. The Elite Eight doubleheader, in prime time on a night without men’s tournament games, should easily pass that mark, and it could even beat last year’s championship, which set a new record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game at 9.9 million viewers.

“It’s just an investment in women, and watching it come to fruition, and it is coming from all the sacrifices of the women that played before, of the women that sat in boardrooms before and begged and pleaded for more investment and resources,” Duncan says. “And now they are seeing all the fruits of their labor.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jan 11, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks before a NBA Game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at AccorHotels Arena.

Adam Silver Says Burden Is on NBA to Prove Clippers Violation

The commissioner addressed the Kawhi Leonard allegations for the first time.

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
exclusive

FanDuel TV Renews Michelle Beadle’s ‘Run It Back’

‘Run It Back’ will return for a fourth season.
Jon Gruden

NFL Asks Nevada Supreme Court to Rehear Jon Gruden Case

The arbitration fight between Gruden and the league continues.

Featured Today

Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leads the team onto the field for warm ups before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
September 7, 2025

Slow Burn: The NFL’s Private-Equity Era So Far

Three deals have been struck to date. But the league is bullish.
Tennis
September 5, 2025

The US Open Is Groaning Under the Weight of Its Own Success

New York’s tennis major is more popular than ever.

NFL’s Expected Early-Season Ratings Boost Gets Off to a Stormy Start

The kickoff game somewhat resembles the delays last year in an SNF game.
Eagles
September 4, 2025

The Death of Streameast Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mirror sites began popping up Thursday, the day the NFL season begins.
September 4, 2025

TNT Sports to Try Its Own Streaming App After WBD Split

TNT Sports will have its own app as a corporate split approaches.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
September 4, 2025

3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

Miami–Notre Dame led the way with 10.8 million viewers.
September 4, 2025

Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut Draws More Than 6M Viewers on ESPN

TCU-UNC was the fifth-most-watched college football game of Week 1.
September 3, 2025

Ohio State–Texas Showdown Was Most-Watched Week 1 CFB Game Ever

Fox drew 16.62 million viewers on Saturday afternoon.
September 2, 2025

NFL on Nielsen’s Latest Measurement Upgrade: ‘More Work to Be Done’

The league calls its relationship with the agency a “protracted journey.”