• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, March 15, 2023

ESPN has sold out in-game broadcast ads for 2023’s NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, according to Disney Advertising.

This year’s tournament, running March 15 to April 2 and running exclusively on ESPN platforms, has 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers across various categories, including Aflac, Great Clips, Intuit QuickBooks, OOFOS, Under Armour, and U.S. Army.

Capital One and new co-presenting sponsor Nissan have joined as the Women’s Tournament Challenge broadcast sponsors.

Capital One will also have a presence in coverage of the tournament on ESPN networks, along with several other brands. The financial corporation is returning as the presenting sponsor of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, the Selection Special, and Women’s Final Four pregame shows on March 31 and April 2, with multiple feature integrations throughout each telecast.

In collaboration with the NCAA and Learfield, Invesco QQQ is back as the presenting sponsor of the WBCA Coaches Trophy, promoted throughout the tournament and culminating with the trophy presentation taking place after the national championship game on April 2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

AT&T has returned as the presenting and halftime sponsor of “The Bird & Taurasi Show” second-screen viewing option of the Final Four and Championship game, airing on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+.

Other brands returning for the competition on linear include Buick, CarMax, Indeed.com, Nissan, Unilever and Werner Ladder. Each will have custom feature integrations throughout the telecast.

Addressable brands including Nissan, Principal, Wendy’s and Xfinity, will sponsor live digital shows focused on or including women’s basketball, such as “Bracketology,” “Champ Week Live,” the Women’s Final Four coverage on-site in Dallas, and “Basketball Bonanza.”

Digital sponsors including AT&T, Buick, Intuit QuickBooks, Nissan, U.S. Army and Wendy’s will have custom integrations on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube.

The 2022-2023 NCAA women’s college basketball regular season on ESPN averaged more than 190,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed regular season in nearly a decade, according to Disney. The coverage drew 2 billion minutes of viewership—up 35% compared to last year, and the most on record.