The NCAA is in the midst of determining whether the media rights for its women’s basketball tournament should go to the marketplace individually -- unbundled from other NCAA championships -- or as part of a large package of championship rights, as it is currently configured. The NCAA hired Endeavor at the end of January to study which model would create the most revenue.
The NCAA's timing couldn’t be better. It is coming off a women’s tournament, Final Four and championship game that each drew record viewership for ESPN. The current deal runs through August 2024.
The women’s basketball championship is believed to be severely undervalued. It is currently part of a package of media rights -- that include most NCAA championships -- for which ESPN pays an estimated $40 million annually. If the NCAA sold the women’s tournament rights on its own, it could generate significantly more.
The downside? What would happen to other sports like volleyball, softball and baseball, which have value, but might not be best served by the unbundled model. There’s also the question: Who would bid against ESPN for women’s tourney rights to theoretically drive up the price?
