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WBB: Here to stay, give respect
Continued from page 16 to give women’s basketball the flowers it deserves, but with the level of the competition and the view count, there is no reason why more games should not be aired on national television.
The looming question is should the women’s tournament get its own TV deal? And the answer is yes it should.
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ESPN’s TV deal ends next year and the company has the rights to all NCAA Division I Tournaments except men’s basketball and football. The deal pays $32 million annually for women’s basketball and the 28 other championships combined, but some experts say that a separate deal for the women could be worth even more. Independent media expert Ed Desser estimated that the women’s tournament could be worth between $82 and $112 million dollars in 2025.
That right there is enough in itself as to why women should get their own television rights. The NCAA gets a combined $32 million with the deal they currently have, but the women’s tournament can generate three times as much as the current deal on its own.
People are watching the women’s tournament and it has been on the rise the last two years.
4.85 million people watched last year’s national champion- ship game between UConn and South Carolina. And the game was fighting for air time with the Grammy’s and it still broke records.
That game was the mostwatched college basketball game for men or women on ESPN since 2008.
Until Friday night when Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark went head to head for a spot in the national championship. This year’s Final Four was the most watched women’s college basketball semifinal across all ESPN platforms.
Both semifinal games averaged 4.5 million viewers, which was a 66% increase from last year.
LSU and Virginia Tech drew an average of 3.4 million viewers, but the game of the hour, Iowa versus South Carolina brought in an average of 5.5 million viewers, which was the third most-watched women’s college basketball game on ESPN’s platforms.
And this year, the title game aired on ABC, the first time it was on network television since 1995. The views were record breaking as it drew in an averaging 9.9 million viewers, marking the most viewed women’s basketball game ever.
As a whole, the tournament set an all-time women’s attendance record with 357,542 total fans, with the championship game being a sellout with 19,482 fans in attendance.
This tournament has been one of the best in recent ages. Two (!) No. 1 seeds were knocked out in the first weekend. UConn snapped a streak of 14 consecutive Final Fours with a loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16. A No. 5 seed made the Elite Eight and two No. 12 seeds pulled off first round upsets.
The talent is through the roof. Clark notched the first 40-point triple double in an NCAA Tournament during the Elite Eight. Aliyah Boston is dominating the field and Angel Reese has 34 consecutive double-doubles.
Prominent head coach Dawn Staley has been fighting for the women’s tournament to have its own TV deal the entire tournament and she has a point.
If you build it, they will come. And people want to watch women’s basketball, so when the NCAA decides what to do next year, the answer should be clear.
Give the women their own television rights to the tournament and let them stay in the spotlight they so much deserve.