WOMEN’S HOOPS CAN BRING MADNESS BUT NEEDS MORE REGULAR SEASON RUN

Octagon SVP, Global Media Rights Consulting, William Mao authored an op-ed for Sportico to discuss the continued growth and massive potential for women’s college basketball.

March Madness is in full swing.

In the men’s tournament, bracket busting is in full effect as multiple higher seeds, including blue bloods Kansas and Kentucky, have already been upset. While on the women’s side, Iowa and South Carolina remain on the march toward a title-game showdown in Cleveland.

Back in January, ESPN inked an eight-year, $920 million dollar media rights extension with the NCAA that included the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship as part of an all-encompassing deal for 40 different NCAA championships. The new agreement values the women’s tournament at an average of $65 million per year, more than half of the entire deal’s average annual value ($115 million per year) from 2024-25 through 2031-32. The $65 million per year also represents a near 12x increase in the average annual value of the women’s tournament compared to its value in the previous deal.

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To read the rest of Mao’s insightful piece via Sportico, click here.