The arms race for March Madness advertising continues to climb new heights, but the real story this year isn’t the men’s tournament. For the first time, the slots for female athletes’ advertisements during the championship are in such high demand that they match the prices of the games for male headliners from just years ago. In a transformation of what was long referred to as bargain-bin stock, one of sports advertising’s hottest properties has emerged, with prices nearly six times higher than in 2023. How a previously ignored women’s tournament among warring nations became advertising’s hottest ticket—and what that means for the 2026 media budget.

This year’s seismic shift arrives as the women’s tourney provides what advertisers yearn for most: explosive growth. The men’s tournament is keeping its top-tier prices, while the women’s game is rewriting the sports-marketing playbook—with a perfect storm of rising viewership and, for the moment, comparatively expensive ad rates.

The Women’s Tournament: Advertising’s New Blue Chip

“We’re having conversations that two or three years ago, we never would have dreamed about,” says Jacqueline Dobies, VP, Revenue, Disney Advertising. “Where we used to sell brands on why they should buy in, now we’re figuring out how to fairly distribute limited inventory.”

The numbers tell a remarkable tale of expansion:

-2023: $65,830 for a 30-second spot

-2024: $188,870 (187% increase)

-2025: $438,692 (132% growth)

Such pricing trends parallel the viewing explosion of the tournament. The women’s title match had 18.9 million viewers last year. It is more than the men’s title match for the first time. And early 2025 viewing figures indicate another potential record year. Advertisers, meanwhile, are responding with a level of demand never seen before, with 45 new brands joining the women’s tournament this year and existing sponsors upping their investments to an average of 81 percent.

The tournament’s Cinderella run presents unique opportunities for brands. “You are getting Super Bowl-level engagement at maybe one-third of the cost,” says Mark Stevenson, a media buyer at Horizon Sports. “Once the market breaks that option, that value proposition goes away.”

The March Madness Men’s Tournament: The Steady Giant

When the men’s event is thought to be advertising’s blue-chip buy, the women’s tournament is the one making headlines about growth. Expect Championship game spots to hold steady at $2.2 – $2.3 million as the tournament nets CBS and Warner Bros $1 billion+ in ad revenue. As for the exact numbers, there isn’t any detailed information on the public domain.

But beneath the surface, change is afoot. The men’s tournament now finds itself under fresh pressure to innovate, as its year-over-year growth in viewership (+3% in 2024) struggles to keep pace with that of the women’s tournament, which has hit meteoric highs. Traditional powerhouse advertisers like Coca-Cola and Capital One, having made significant investments in the men’s game, are moving chunks of media dollars toward the women’s game, with interesting media buying dynamics.

“The men’s tournament is like prime Manhattan real estate — expensive, but you can always sell it,” says sports marketing professor Dr. Alicia Reynolds. If the women’s tournament is Brooklyn 10 years ago, every early arrival is getting paid off, and those arriving now will pay a premium.

The 2025 tournament represents a watershed moment in sports advertising. March Madness isn’t only limited to the men’s games anymore as smart brands are developing integrated campaigns over the two tournaments to widen reach.

 For advertisers, the implications are obvious:

1. Women’s tournament: Buy now before prices get to men’s levels
2. Leverage what you have from Men’s tournament stability but innovate elsewhere with digital extensions
3. Cross-tournament: Create cohesive campaigns that will resonate with both events

As Dobies notes: “We’ve advanced from ‘if’ brands should be in the women’s tournament to ‘how much’ and ‘how creatively’ they can enter.” With 95% of women’s tournament inventory sold and men’s spots selling at a record pace, one thing is clear: the March Madness marketing gold rush is not slowing down.

The 2025 NCAA tournaments have rewritten the books in sports advertising, showing that March Madness isn’t just boys’ game anymore. With viewership trends changing and women’s basketball capturing the nation’s attention, we’re experiencing a sea change in the way brands are distributing their sports marketing budget. The most savvy advertisers are not choosing between each of these tournaments. Instead, they’re leveraging both in order to maximize reach against this cultural phenomenon.

For progressive brands, the message is unequivocal: Now is the time to act. And with ad prices for the Women’s Tournament escalating at an astonishing rate and men’s inventory turning over faster than ever, waiting could be the difference between driving home a golden goose or missing your shot completely. Whether you want to take advantage of the women’s tournament’s explosive growth or keep your stakes in the more established men’s tournament, one thing is clear: March Madness.