I think interest in women's soccer in the US is much more organic than this comment implies. Soccer was touted to young girls (and their parents) in the 90s and

I think interest in women's soccer in the US is much more organic than this comment implies. Soccer was touted to young girls (and their parents) in the 90s and 00s as a safe and inexpensive sport particularly well-suited to women; one of the few where women can play with pretty much the same rules and equipment as men (contra softball, basketball, football). And it had a bit of foreign mystique. So there is a fairly large spectator pool of women familiar with the sport from high school or club sports who follow the games, as do some of their siblings and parents. Men are more interested in the sports they played as kids. University-level athletes are such a small population that they don't really affect viewership much. I don't even think Title 9 accommodations have much to do with the female talent pool; as in most of the world, US soccer players get hooked early and start intensive training before University. They just happen to be predominantly female.