NCAA Women’s 2023 March Madness Title Game Broadcast Moving To ABC
Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 06:47PM By Barry Janoff
August 23, 2022: Calling it a “benchmark announcement for women’s basketball,” the NCAA and ESPN said today that the 2023 Div. I Women’s Basketball Championship game would be broadcast for the first time live on ABC.
The game is scheduled for Sunday, April 2, 3 PM (ET) in American Airlines Center, Dallas.
ESPN said the game could not air during prime time because those hours on ABC are already committed to entertainment shows, but that it would “look to move the game to prime time in the future.”
The rest of the tournament will air on ESPN platforms, including the 2023 Women’s Final Four semifinal games on ESPN on Friday, March 31 (7 PM and 9:30 PM).
“Scheduling the Div. I Women’s Basketball Championship on ABC has been a goal for quite some time in our ongoing efforts to maximize the exposure of women’s sports in collaboration with the NCAA,” Burke Magnus, ESPN president, programming and original content, said via the network.
“Women’s NCAA Championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship.”
The Div. I Men’s Basketball Championship game has traditionally aired during prime time, most recently on a rotating basis between CBS and TBS.
ESPN aired NCAA Div. I Women’s Tournament games on ABC for the first time in 2021, with two first round games and four Sweet 16 contests.
That continued in 2021-22 season with the addition of two regular season games on ABC, as well as a number of tournament games.
“It’s a benchmark announcement for women’s basketball in being able to showcase the national championship game in Dallas for an expanded audience on ABC for the first time in 2023,” Beth Goetz, chair of the NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Committee and director of athletics at Ball State, said via the NCAA.
“We are grateful to ABC/ESPN for the partnership in the continued growth of the game and championship.”
ESPN said the 2022 Women’s Basketball Championship game, featuring South Carolina vs. UConn on ESPN, was the most-viewed women’s title game in nearly two-decades with 4.85 million viewers.
The national semifinals averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 21% year-over-year, and was the most-viewed semifinals in a decade. The full tournament averaged 634,000 viewers, up 16% from the previous year’s coverage.
The ESPN decision coincides with another move that shows the increasing strength of women’s sports.
The National Women’s Soccer League, Ally Financial and CBS Sports said today that the 2022 Ally Financial NWSL Championship, presented by Budweiser, is scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+ Oct. 29 at 8 PM (ET), making it the NWSL’s first prime-time championship airing.
The game was moved from its originally scheduled time (Noon ET) following what was called “a recent collaborative effort by Ally, CBS and the league.”
The game will be played in Audi Field, a soccer-specific, grass stadium with a seating capacity of 20,000 that is the primary home of the defending NWSL champion Washington Spirit and home of MLS D.C. United.
The decision to move the Women’s Championship game to ABC follows efforts by the NCAA over the past few seasons “to achieve greater equity between the women's and men's championships.”
That has included allowing the Div. I Women's Basketball Championship to use March Madness marketing and branding, previously reserved for the men's tournament, which began with the 2022 tournament.
In another decision, the NCAA said it has implemented a “zero-based budgeting method for the two championships.
“Instead of adjusting budgets from the previous fiscal year, the men's and women's basketball championships staffs are starting from scratch in determining budgeting expenses, which must be justified and approved for each new period.”
That move is “designed to show where justifiable differences in the allocation of championship financial resources exist and are appropriate, with an eye toward increasing opportunities for planning collaboration and cross-promotion, as well as making the two championships more financially equitable,” according to the NCAA.
The NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Committee said the field of 68 teams participating in the 2023 championship would be unveiled on Selection Sunday, March 12, ESPN (8 PM ET).
The First Four games are scheduled for March 15-16 and will take place at campus sites.
The 2023 regional rounds March 24-27 will be played using a two-host format with eight teams competing in Greenville, SC, and eight teams playing in Seattle.
The women's Div. 1 Tournament will follow this two-site regional format through 2027.
NCAA Moves To Balance Support, Branding For Men’s-Women’s March Madness
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