GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (ABC 4)- ABC is making new strides to broadcast women’s college basketball to a broader audience. On Tuesday, the network announced that beginning in 2023, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship game will be televised live on ABC for the first time.
Following the viewership success of the 2022 Women’s Basketball Championship game (South Carolina vs. UConn), ringing in 4.85 million viewers on ESPN, ABC decided to further its mission of bringing greater attention to women’s sports by making this strategic move.
Burke Magnis, President of Programming and Original Content, shared a statement on ABC’s decision to broadcast the women’s basketball championship game on its network.
“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. 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.”
Viewers can tune into the championship game hosted at the American Airlines Center in Dallas by turning their channels to ABC 4 at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 2, and catch the 2023 Women’s Final Four Semifinal matchups airing at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31, on ESPN.
The “field 68 teams participating in the 2023 championship will be announced on Selection Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. on ESPN,” the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Basketball Committee says.
For more information on the 2023 Women’s Basketball Championship matchup, visit the NCAA’s website.
