The women’s NCAA tournament is staying on ESPN.
The network announced Thursday that it had reached an eight-year deal with the NCAA to keep broadcasting the women’s basketball tournament and numerous other events. Overall, the deal is worth $920 million and includes the rights to 40 NCAA championship events.
Since the College Football Playoff is not run by the NCAA, the women’s NCAA tournament is ESPN’s biggest NCAA championship event as CBS and Turner have the U.S. rights to the men’s NCAA tournament. The eight-year agreement gives ESPN the international rights to the men’s tournament.
"ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong and collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue as part of this new, long-term agreement," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. "The ESPN networks and platforms will exclusively present a record number of championships, including all rounds of several marquee events that, together with the NCAA, we have grown over time. This unprecedented deal also further strengthens The Walt Disney Company's industry-leading commitment to women's sports and will help fuel our continued growth, including in the critical streaming space."
The women’s basketball tournament has grown in popularity in recent years and thrived in a Sunday afternoon timeslot on ABC in 2023. LSU’s win over Iowa drew an average of nearly 10 million viewers and was the most-watched women’s basketball final ever.
The previous record was an average audience of nearly 5.7 million for the 2002 tournament title between Oklahoma and UConn. Overall, viewership for the 2023 women’s tournament was up over 40% from 2022.
"The NCAA has worked in earnest over the past year to ensure that this new broadcast agreement provides the best possible outcome for all NCAA championships, and in particular women's championships," NCAA president Charlie Baker said. "Over the past several years, ESPN has demonstrated increased investment in NCAA championship coverage, and the Association is pleased to continue to provide a platform for student-athletes to shine. Having one, multi-platform home to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential along with a greater experience for the viewer and our student-athletes."
Other events included in the deal are the FCS football playoffs, the women’s volleyball championship, and both the baseball and softball College World Series.
It also includes the NIT and the WBIT basketball tournaments. ESPN said in its release that “NCAA members will explore revenue distribution unites for the women’s basketball tournament” because of the rights fee increase the network is paying the governing body. For decades, the two main revenue drivers for Division I athletic departments across the country have been football and men’s basketball.
