From Fortune:

The NCAA and ESPN made a deal worth $920 million over 8 years for 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament. The updated contract is an increase of over 300% per year from the previous one. ESPN’s estimated value of the deal is $115 million per year, according to NCAA President Charlie Baker. The media consultant expects 57% of the value to be tied to the women’s March Madness tournament. The women’s basketball tournament is exclusively broadcast on ESPN and has been gaining popularity. The current deal doesn’t guarantee start times, nor does it have an expectation for viewership. Fox Sports networks Executive Patrick Crakes sees ESPN as the smartest choice for the NCAA given the changing media landscape, where consumers are moving away from cable TV. Disagreements about the value of the women’s basketball tournament led the NCAA to decide to keep it bundled rather than unbundling it from the rest of the championships. The deal wasn’t brought to the open market, and ESPN had an exclusive negotiating window. The changing media economy makes bringing properties to the open market riskier than in the past, as media companies are uncertain about consumer trends.



Read more: ESPN signs $920 million, 8-year deal with NCAA for package including women’s college basketball tournament