ESPN this week has treated the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on the "same level as the College Football Playoff and 'Monday Night Football,'" according to Joe Reedy of the AP. But with "increased attention toward how the women’s version of 'March Madness' is treated compared to the men’s tournament," ESPN’s coverage will be "under the microscope." ESPN has carried the women’s tournament since '96 and has "been part of its evolution." Games used to "have regionalized windows," but now every game has "its own window." When the tournament begins Friday, games will either be on "ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU, or ESPNews." ABC will "have four games for the second straight year." ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said, "It’s huge to have games on ABC. They rate better. It’s a simple fact. The next step is to have the championship game on ABC. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw that in the near future." Reedy writes a move to ABC also would "quiet some who have wondered if having the women’s tournament on the same networks as the men would be better." The Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis will "receive extensive coverage across the ESPN networks." Besides the main broadcast on ESPN, there will "be four alternate broadcasts" (AP, 3/18).
TWITCH'S RETURN: ADWEEK's David Cohen noted Twitch for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is "bringing two original shows back" to /TwitchSports: Let’s Go! College Hoops and SuperFan FaceOff. Both shows will "feature athletes, sports analysts and Twitch creators discussing the action on the court, and sponsorships feature brand integrations and custom campaigns for brands looking to engage with Twitch’s growing community of sports fans." SuperFan FaceOff is "being sponsored" by Philips Norelco, marking its "first ever ad campaign on Twitch." Associate sponsor Wendy’s will "back the show’s 'The Pick 5' custom segment" (ADWEEK.com, 3/17).
