March Madness Scores More Ad Buys, But Women’s Basketball Is the Big Winner

The NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments that comprise March Madness score huge ad sales, but one side’s gaudy stat line is helping the whole sport win.

CBS Sports and TNT Sports held a joint call on Wednesday during which Paramount Advertising evp of sports sales Ryan Briganti and Warner Bros. Discovery evp of ad sales Jon Diament discussed ad buys for men’s tournament games on TBS, CBS, TNT, truTV, Paramount+, and Max. Out of curiosity, ADWEEK followed up that call with a conversation with Disney Advertising’s vice president of revenue and yield management, Jacqueline Leonard Dobies, about the women’s event.

While both discussions suggested winning sales strategies, they were marked by divergent game plans for sharing their paths to tournament victory.

A successful men’s game plan

Briganti said that Paramount and WBD “typically don’t get into percentages of sales,” but tournament ad inventory was “virtually sold out” thanks to generally strong sports demand. Diament added that more than 50% of all ad inventory went to the NCAA’s Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capital One, and 15 corporate partners ranging from Buffalo Wild Wings to Unilever—all well in advance of the tournament.

This year, Paramount and WBD saw increased spending among pharmaceutical, insurance, automotive, and banking companies.

“This property is such a total phenomenon. It exists over three weeks. It’s not just over a week, so you have advertising that can build programs over three weeks [and] you can just see different types of creative that will be teased in the beginning and result towards the end,” Diament said. “Because this thing is so big—and we all know habits have changed from the consumer—it’s not only on linear in a traditional way, but you’ll find it on streaming, and there’s a huge mobile component.”

However, neither Paramount nor WBD provided specifics on dollar volume or pricing. Briganti said that data was “not something I’m uncomfortable sharing, but it’s all positive, and we’re comfortable and very happy with where we’re at.” He confirmed that ad prices increased at a rate similar to 2024, or “mid to high single-digit percentages.”

The women’s tournament runs up the score

Disney Advertising, meanwhile, was somewhat more free with its numbers for women’s tournament ad buys. Dobies noted that the tournament’s total ad sales had grown 200% from the year before, with tournament ad inventory 95% sold, and ads for the championship game completely sold out more than three months ago.

After ESPN posted growing viewership numbers for women’s March Madness in recent years—including an audience of more than 19 million for the 2024 final that paid off in engagement and business for advertisers—Disney Advertising came into the 2025 tournament bearing receipts. With TV upfronts approaching, women’s basketball’s strategy was a win for all of March Madness.

“We actually had to strategically fight to not sell out sooner, especially based on what we saw during the past two years, but especially last year—the amount of people that wanted to be a part of this,” Dobies said. “We intentionally wanted to carve out space for as many of our brands as possible and be as inclusive as possible for this particular property. If we would have taken every single dollar and unit we had been offered, we would have sold out before the upfront was even over.”

Let them play

Disney Advertising shared more details from NCAA Women’s March Madness because there’s more to add.

The women’s tournament’s returning advertisers increased their budgets by 81% from 2024. The tournament’s 112 total advertisers include 45 new brands, expanding the event’s reach to 18 categories—adding hotels and resorts, airlines, and coffee/tea brands to mainstays in automotive, finance, pharmaceutical, and athletic footwear.

In the championship game, Dobies said Disney Advertising saw scatter ad rates higher than $1 million. Dobies pointed out that, depending on the market, that rate is equivalent to what Disney Advertising charges for the NBA Finals and the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“A lot of years ago, the question was: ‘How do we convince brands to buy women’s sports?’” Dobies said. “That’s not the conversation anymore. It’s: ‘How do we make space for everybody?’”

To wedge more advertisers in, Disney Advertising has spread advertisers to more women’s sports properties throughout its portfolio and more spaces on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, and Disney+—as well as digital and social media offerings.

Sharing the ball

Dobies said Disney Advertising has also sold out ad space for its app-based 2025 Tournament Challenge, which gives brands access to 9.4 million players filling out 22.6 million tournament brackets.

In fact, Briganti acknowledged that excitement around the women’s tournament and tight ad availability there may be generating demand for men’s tournament inventory.

“One hundred percent, it’s fantastic… from championship activations, understanding the logistics between two cities, to ad campaigns, to literally, booking travel for certain clients, it’s definitely part of the conversation,” Briganti said. “Seeing that side continue to grow—and brands will have properties in other female sports—it’s definitely something that is helping the overall marketplace.”