ABC to broadcast NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship game

By WDIO
Image of basketball on the court
(Pixabay)

On Tuesday, ABC announced it will broadcast the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship game live on Sunday, April 2 at 2:00 p.m. The game will be played at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“Scheduling the Division 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, president, Programming and Original Content said in a press release. “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 2023 Women’s Final Four semifinal matchups will air on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31.

According to the release, ESPN aired NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament games on ABC for the first time in 2021, with two first-round matchups and four Sweet 16 contests available on the broadcast network. The trend continued in the 2021-22 season with the addition of two regular season matchups 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,” said Beth Goetz, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and director of athletics at Ball State. “We are grateful to ABC/ESPN for the partnership in the continued growth of the game and championship.”

The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee recently confirmed that the field of 68 teams participating in the 2023 championship will be announced on Selection Sunday, March 12, airing on ESPN at 8:00 p.m EDT.

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 as South Carolina captured the program’s second national title in five years.