Women's NCAA final sets record with nearly 10M viewers

• At its peak, the game was viewed by 12.6 million viewers, ESPN said.
• The game also marked the most-viewed college event ever on ESPN+, ESPN's streaming service.

Be smart: The viewership numbers show that women's sports can compete with major sporting events from the major men's leagues.

• The NBA Finals averaged 9.89 million viewers on ABC in 2021, Sportico notes.
• Amazon's NFL broadcasts drew 9.58 million viewers per game on average during the 2022 season.

The big picture: U.S. women's sports, particularly soccer and basketball, are becoming a hot investment vehicle for networks.

Yes, but: Despite gains in viewership, women's sports have historically struggled to yield the same types of revenue in media broadcast rights as men's sports.

• A 2021 report found that the NCAA has undervalued women's basketball by over $100 million.

• ESPN currently pays the NCAA roughly $34 million for women's basketball rights, in conjunction with over two dozen other sports championships rights, as Axios has noted. That deal expires in the 2023-2024 season.

What to watch: The NCAA has hired Endeavor to advise on its next media rights deal, per Sports Business Journal.

• It's considering a major change that would see the unbundling of many of its championships, most notably the women's basketball tournament.

Go deeper: NCAA women's March Madness breaks records