Women’s sports…Wait, let me correct that…Sports played by women are finally getting their turn at bat and are primed to hit it out of the park.
ESPN recently announced that after 36 seasons it’s replacing its “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast with “Women’s Sports Sunday” which will cover games and highlights from the WNBA and NWSL over nine weeks starting this summer.
Everyone may not watch women’s sports but everyone is certainly is watching how women’s sports are connecting with fans — casual and die-hard alike — and bringing in the cash.
And ESPN, who has an equity stake in the WNBA as well as the broadcast rights of the NWSL, NCAA D1 regular season and March Madness games, is no exception.
Before you start with the “Blah, blah. What’s the big deal? ESPN was breaking up with Major League Baseball anyway — opting out of their 7-year contract three years early.”
It’s true that ESPN and MLB are in the midst of an amicable divorce with ESPN realizing that sometimes it’s not cheaper to keep her (or him).
But with “Women’s Sports Sunday”, the network marries existing products with a new format and familiar popular hosts.
A match made in heaven is almost guaranteed.
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