March Madness may end up April Anarchy, at least in the men’s NCAA Tournament. “CBS is about to brace for their lowest NCAA men’s Final Four to date.” The women’s side, however, could be the exact opposite. ✍️ Bill_Shea19
There are truisms that affect both Final Fours and viewership: Being on a national broadcast channel instead of cable should mean a bit of a bigger audience, but many factors will drive the final audience averages, including the team matchups, close games versus blowouts, star player performance, and what is on competing channels.
There certainly is some measure of school pride that fans get from good TV ratings, and the numbers also can make for an interesting snapshot of fan interest for that particular matchup. And this year, there’s curiosity about not having any No. 1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time in a dozen years and three programs making it to the finals weekend for the first time since 1970.
The women’s viewership has added importance because the tournament’s media rights, which currently are bundled by the NCAA with other sports for $500 million over 14 years under ainked in 2011, are widely considered to be undervalued today and may be sold on their own when they expire in 2025. ESPN platforms have aired women’s basketball games since 2003 and, under the current deal, the Disney-owned network pays just under $36 million a year, on average, for not just the women’s tournament — which could be worth up to $100 million or more itself, per a 2021Solid to spectacular viewership — especially with the women’s final being on network TV for the first time since 1995, when it last aired on CBS in a midafternoon time slot — won’t hurt any theoretical NCAA desire to sell women’s...
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