The Sports Professor Rick Horrow, in conjunction with promotional partner Northern Trust, presents Part Two of a three-part series focusing on March Madness. Part One reviewed college sports generally; and Part Three, from Indianapolis, covers specifics of the men’s Final Four and National Championship Weekend.
The business of women’s basketball in many ways parallels the general women’s sports business – it’s on the rise. Television ratings and attendance continue to increase, and Corporate America covets the female demographic. Last year’s on-court headline focused on Tennessee Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt surpassing Dean Smith’s 880 coaching wins. This year, a two-dunk performance in a tournament game grabbed the headlines.
Women’s March Madness builds from here – culminating with the April 2-4 Final Four in Boston. Off the court, three business questions dominate.
Will Corporate America continue its love affair with women’s sports in general, and March Madness in particular?
Corporate marketing executives continue to believe that women’s sports provide the greatest untapped potential in the industry. According to Medelia Communications, women influence over 80 percent of all purchases made in America today, and 72 percent are the primary shoppers for themselves, their homes, and their families.
The women’s market totals upward of $5 trillion (a little more than the GNP of Japan). Not surprisingly, women’s sports have passed the $1 billion mark in total sponsorship revenue, with such pioneer companies as State Farm focusing exclusively on women’s sports since 1991. Other major corporations have committed to women’s basketball – both at the college level and the WNBA – for nearly 10 years: American Express, Anheuser-Busch, Nike, and Spalding, to name a few.
While women’s soccer and the WUSA died largely for lack of corporate support, most other corporate commitments to women’s sports are on the rise. As long as Corporate America continues to be extremely bullish on female purchasing power and the loyalty of women sports fans, look for these programs to get an increasing percentage of the over $130 billion of advertising spent in the United States on an annual basis.
Will women’s basketball continue to reap its major revenue sources – television and retail?
First, television has provided the NCAA with a $200 million nest egg – the result of an 11-year deal with ESPN that televises all games of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament, along with softball, volleyball, swimming, Division II basketball, and other sports. The deal also generates more than $15 million annually for overall promotion and distribution to individual programs – a substantial increase over the $2.7 million annually received under the previous contract.
More female viewers continue to watch sports than any time in television history. Women make up nearly 40 percent of the network viewing audience for regular season professional sports, 30 percent of the men’s college basketball audience, and up to 40 percent for women’s basketball. The 2004 Connecticut-Tennessee National Championship Game averaged 3.8 million households – the second most viewed basketball game (men’s or women’s) in ESPN’s 25-year history.
As for retail sales, a study done two years ago by The Sports Authority retail chain indicated that women shoppers drove 70 percent of all of its business. Understanding this, pro sports leagues (both men’s and women’s) are increasing their marketing reach to the female sports fan. The NFL has sold over five percent of its annual $3.2 billion in annual sales to women.
Not surprisingly, the “sneaker wars” prevalent in men’s March Madness are at least as significant in the women’s. Of the 64 teams in the women’s tourney, the breakdown includes the following:
-- 56 – Nike swoosh and/or Jordan logo -- 7 – adidas -- 1 – Reebok
