Here's why ESPN's new NCAA women's basketball tournament deal could be detrimental to the sport
There’s nothing quite like the chaotic nature of college sports. It’s what captivates many fans, and the NCAA is banking that the growth of women’s sports will propel their new media deal with the ESPN forward.
On Thursday, the NCAA announced a new eight-year deal with ESPN worth $115 million annually to televise its most coveted sports. The partnership extends the exclusive coverage the network currently has for championships in several sports and adds coverage that includes Division I men’s and women’s tennis team championships and the national collegiate men’s gymnastics championship.
Per the NCAA’s announcement, NCAA president Charlie Baker says, “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.”
New Media Rights Agreement!@ESPN and @NCAA reach new, eight-year media rights to 40 NCAA championships – 21 women’s and 19 men’s events – including expanded coverage of DII and DIII championships.
https://t.co/M2AWJ3tXc5https://t.co/zzaIQJthcy
— NCAA PR (@NCAA_PR) January 4, 2024
Here’s the thing: The growth of the Division I women’s basketball tournament in 2023 was nearly palpable when teams like Iowa and LSU became household names.
With over 9 million viewers, the women’s tournament title game became the most-viewed women’s college basketball game on record, and overall viewership was up 55 percent from the previous year. That’s not a fluke. That’s the power of women’s sports.
It’s understandable for the NCAA to want to capitalize on the abilities that ESPN has to continue that growth through its platforms, partnerships and staff. (ESPN also knows there aren’t many rival networks who can do what they can do.)
However, if the NCAA wanted to truly show its support for women’s sports, pulling it out of the package — like the men’s tournament — sends the message that they believe they have premiere content spearheaded by premier stars.
This new deal says that the belief is that women’s basketball is not strong enough to stand on its own two proverbial feet. It’s unfortunate and doesn’t totally align with the current reality. After all, one of the most talked about college athletes right now is a woman.