Sensor Tower’s new report, “Bracket Buster: Growth of the NCAA Women’s Tournament Doubles Opportunities for Streaming Services and Advertisers”, reveals that the NCAA Women’s Tournament isn’t just breaking records—it’s reshaping the advertising landscape.
In 2024, brands poured 90 times more into marketing campaigns featuring female athletes than they did just two years ago, signaling a seismic shift in how advertisers view women’s sports. With streaming platforms riding the wave of skyrocketing engagement, the business of college basketball is undergoing a major transformation.
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Women’s Hoops, Big-Time Sponsorships
The impact of female athletes has never been more evident. The 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament drew an unprecedented 18 million viewers for its championship game—outpacing the men’s final for the first time. This surge in interest isn’t lost on advertisers. Endorsement deals tied to women’s college basketball stars have exploded, driven in large part by the “Caitlin Clark effect.” In 2022, brands spent eight times more on female college athletes compared to their male counterparts. By 2024, that number had jumped to a staggering 60x. Clark, now one of basketball’s biggest commercial stars, became the face of major ad campaigns for Comcast (Xfinity), PepsiCo (Gatorade), and Gainbridge Insurance, which collectively accounted for 75% of branded endorsements during the tournament.
The Streaming Surge: Where Fans Are Watching
Streaming services have emerged as major winners in this boom. Daily active users on NCAA game-carrying platforms surged by 45% during the tournament, with apps like TBS seeing a 200% jump and truTV soaring 450%. Even bigger live TV services, such as Fubo and Sling, experienced significant boosts. The trend is clear—sports fans are increasingly turning to digital platforms, a shift that is reshaping both traditional and online advertising strategies.
March Madness Marketing: Ad Spend Skyrockets
The financial stakes for brands have never been higher. Digital ad spending around March Madness grew by 80% in 2024, up from 60% in 2023. Capital One, a key NCAA sponsor, increased its investment 30-fold year-over-year, while Warner Bros. Discovery pumped in 25 times more than the previous year, leveraging its Max platform’s partnership with the Men’s Tournament.
The spending frenzy isn’t confined to basketball. This pattern mirrors Super Bowl marketing trends, where CPG brands ramped up digital spending by 45% in the six weeks leading up to the big game. As advertisers continue refining their 360-degree strategies, integrating digital campaigns with live sports events has become a must.
Prepping For The Future: 2025’s Marketing Playbook
With the 2025 NCAA tournaments approaching, brands are already positioning themselves for another record-breaking year. Major sponsors like Wendy’s and Buffalo Wild Wings are rolling out early campaigns, using social media to build anticipation. Nissan, another official sponsor, is running an ESPN.com desktop display campaign prompting fans to fill out their brackets for a chance to win a Nissan Murano.
As the NCAA Women’s Tournament continues to grow in popularity, the implications for brands, advertisers, and media platforms are profound. The days of women’s sports being sidelined in the marketing playbook are over—this is a business opportunity too big to ignore. Expect ad dollars, sponsorship deals, and streaming investments to keep climbing, because one thing is clear: women’s college basketball isn’t just competing—it’s leading the game.
