Before the NCAA Tournament began, the consensus prediction was the women’s competition would be more popular than the men.
I don’t know who made this “consensus prediction” but contrary to the above sentence, it’s flat out wrong.
The prediction was spot on. The women’s national championship game attracted a larger television audience the men’s game for the first time in history.
The prediction was not “spot on.” The men’s tournament vastly outdrew the women’s competition with the sole exception of the championship game which for the men was broadcast on cable and for the women was on both cable and over-the-air (ABC).
That’s an achievement to be sure, but it’s nowhere near making women’s basketball (NCAA or otherwise) more popular than men’s. For example, for the 2022 season the men’s NCAA tournament generated $1.2 billion versus the women’s generating $2.3 million.
Let’s stop demeaning women and women’s sports by pretending the popularity is equal. It doesn’t have to be to still be a worthwhile thing.