NCAA enjoys strong viewership for women’s March Madness

The GIST: While viewership of this year’s NCAA women’s March Madness did dip in the post–Caitlin Clark era, women’s basketball fandom is certainly here to stay. The tournament wrapped with a dominant UConn win over South Carolina and so much more: A sold-out crowd, historic audiences, and promising growth. Let’s crunch the numbers.

📺 3.9M: Average viewership for both Final Four matchups, making it the third most-watched semifinal round in tournament history. Viewership was down 64% from last year (10.8M), however, and dropped 14% from 2023 (4.54M).

🌴 19,731: Attendance for yesterday’s final in Tampa, Florida, resulting in full sellout at Amalie Arena. While the men’s tournament also tends to pack the house, it’s typically granted much larger venues like this year’s 64K-seater Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

• The sites are decided years in advance and will be smaller for the women through 2031: Indianapolis will host the men’s tourney at 70K-seater Lucas Oil Stadium in 2026, yet will host the women at 18K-seater Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2028. Hmm…

💰 200%: The YoY rise in ad sales for the women’s tournament, according to ESPN. A whopping 95% of inventory was sold when the tourney began, with championship ad inventory going for more than $1M. ESPN parent Disney compared these prices to commercials sold during the NBA Finals or the College Football Playoff National Championship.

🏀 $65M: What ESPN will pay the NCAA annually to air the women’s championship for the next eight years, a deal that’s been criticized for undervaluing the elite product. Experts argued that women’s March Madness was worth between $81M and $112M, and that was before the tournament final outpaced the men’s final in viewership in 2024. Speak on it.