First national women’s college basketball rights deal for Scripps Sports
ATLANTA – ION will be the exclusive television home of the popular Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, apremier early season college basketball tournament, for the next five years as part of a new multiyear agreement between Scripps Sports and award-winning agency Intersport, which manages the tournament.
The Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, launched in 2022, has quickly established itself as one of the premier early season tournaments in the country, regularly bringing championship-caliber programs to Southwest Florida. In just a few short years, national champions such as South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Purdue and other powerhouse teams like Iowa State, DePaul, Michigan, Oklahoma and others have participated in the event.
The agreement begins with this year’s edition of the Thanksgiving weekend tournament, Nov. 28-29, held at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers. ION will air every matchup live both days with distribution on cable, satellite, major streaming platforms and over-the-air.
The tournament marks the first national women’s college basketball rights deal for Scripps Sports, adding to its growing portfolio of women’s sports action, including the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
“As the popularity of women’s sports among audiences and advertisers continues to explode, the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off will immediately become another major sports property for ION,” said Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president. “We’re proud that women’s sports have found a home on ION, and we look forward to bringing fans the action-packed world of women’s college basketball this fall.”
“Scripps Sports and ION are now a top destination for women’s sports, and we’re thrilled to partner with them for the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off,” said Mark Starsiak, Senior Vice President of Intersport. “This tournament has proven to be an exciting one for college basketball fans everywhere, and the Scripps Sports team will elevate this event even further.”
The addition of the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off to Scripps Sports comes as ION has seen significant momentum with its sports programming centered around the WNBA and the NWSL. The WNBA on ION reached more than 23.3 million total unique viewers last season, including 9.4 million viewers unique to ION, with seven WNBA telecasts exceeding 1 million viewers. Broadcasts of last year’s inaugural season of the NWSL on ION reached more than 20.5 million total unique viewers, including 13.5 viewers unique to ION.
Participating teams, game schedule and talent details for ION’s coverage of the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off will be announced at a later date. More information on the tournament is available at www.womensfortmyerstipoff.com.
Media contacts:
Intersport – Dan Mihalik, 219-688-9981, [email protected]
Scripps – Jim Weiss, 770-722-2142, http://[email protected]
About ION
A leading general entertainment network, ION’s lineup features major cable and broadcast shows, original series, live sports and special event programming. ION is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of more than 60 stations in more than 40 markets.
About Scripps Sports
Scripps Sports serves professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with local market depth and national broadcast reach. Scripps Sports currently has partnerships with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the National Hockey League’s (NHL) 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, the new Utah Hockey Club, the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA and the NCAA’s Big Sky Conference. Scripps Sports is a division of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP), a Fortune 1000 American media company.
About the Fort Myers Tip-Off
An annual celebration of men’s and women’s college basketball, the Fort Myers Tip-Off welcomes the top programs from around the country for incredible competition to see which teams and their fans will #OwnTheFort during Thanksgiving Week. Contested at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, the home of Florida SouthWestern State College, the Fort Myers Tip-Off has quickly become a staple of the Southwest Florida sports calendar. To receive the latest email alerts regarding tournament news, ticket information and more, visit our website at www.fortmyerstipoff.com or www.womensfortmyerstipoff.com and follow Intersport Basketball on Twitter (X) and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.
About Intersport
Intersport is an award-winning agency that fills the empty space between marketing campaigns and consumers—helping brands make more meaningful connections. Its industry-leading team offers expert insights in content marketing, experiential marketing, hospitality, partnership consulting and platform development. The Chicago-based agency also owns and operates events across the professional and collegiate sports landscape, including basketball, football, golf, pickleball and volleyball. Intersport has been headquartered in Chicago since its inception in 1985 and has an additional office in Detroit. Learn more at www.intersport.global and on social media (LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook).