What’s next for women’s sport: driving growth through proof of value

Women’s sport is having more than just a moment. Thanks to a convergence of forces, elite women’s sport is enjoying unprecedented heights in interest, viewership and attendance.

This is a blessing for everyone: the fans who love sports, the brands that want to sponsor them, and the stadiums and platforms that make watching possible. The natural question that arises is how can we continue this?

Maintaining the momentum will depend on the industry being able to demonstrate measurable benefits for those who get involved in the game. And the best news is that they are already here.

Up and right

While the rise of women’s sports is bigger than that of any single sport or person, there’s no denying that women’s basketball has been at the center of the excitement this year.

The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament averaged nearly 19 million viewers (with a peak of 24 million viewers) for the final between Iowa and South Carolina — up 89% from last year and outpacing the men’s final for the first time. Viewership for the 2024 WNBA Draft increased 511% and among female viewers ages 2-17 increased 668%. And overall interest in the WNBA increased 29% between 2023 and 2024.

Like a tide that lifts all boats, this momentum is spreading beyond basketball too. The National Women’s Soccer League saw a 17% increase in interest between 2023 and 2024. Interest in England’s Women’s Super League increased 52% after England won EURO 2022 – thanks in part to a better broadcast deal – and is enjoying even greater growth in 2024. On June 11, the Tennis Channel’s T2 channel began dedicating every Tuesday exclusively to women’s tennis matches, a weekly initiative called women’s DayAnd 2024 is set to be the year the global women’s sports industry finally breaks the $1 billion mark, a 300% increase from 2021.

The audience is there. The growth is there. And once you understand what drives success, you can prove that the value is there, too.

Value and values

For years, investment decisions in women’s sports have been largely based on DE&I objectives. This mindset is important, but can also be limiting. Because investments in women’s sports are good Business Sense. If the measurable value is lost sight of, it will impair the ability to develop.

Global women’s sports fans are a diverse group – 43% of female sports fans are male, they are predominantly young, tech-savvy and highly engaged consumers. 74% of female sports fans are the primary breadwinners in their household, compared to 70% of male sports fans. And 57% of female sports fans have children under the age of 18, compared to 53% of male sports fans.

Let’s look at the WNBA again. Compared to other sports fans, WNBA fans are much more likely to interact with a brand online, talk to friends and family about the brand, and actually make purchases.

These are engaged viewers with significant spending power – every brand’s dream. This advertising potential should translate into good media rights deals, but historically women’s sports have suffered from undervaluation. Nielsen Sports recently analyzed the value the Women’s Super League generated from broadcasts and found it to be €18.3 million. These rights were sold for €7.3 million, meaning the media rights were undervalued by 2.5 times. This problem can be fixed with the right data.

Sponsorship has always been a key revenue driver for women’s sport. As game reach increases and it is made easier for fans to watch games, the value for sponsor brands naturally increases. This creates the cyclical growth that women’s sport needs and achieving and measuring ROI are the driving factors for investment.

In Nielsen’s “Creating Value in Women’s Sports” webinar, Molly Beck, head of sports and entertainment strategy at Google, shared this anecdote: Google wanted to invest equally in men’s and women’s sports, but realized that wasn’t possible. There wasn’t enough women’s sports. “This made us realize that one of the biggest challenges is visibility,” Beck said. “Google’s sponsorship gives the league (WNBA) more reach, which in turn improves the return on our investment.”

Maintaining the momentum

Women’s sport is gaining traction with coveted audiences, and it’s doing so by following its own game plan. Compared to men’s sport, audiences are different, media consumption is different, and fan expectations are different. This makes it a particularly exciting and important time for everyone to adapt and refine their growth strategies.

To maintain and build the momentum of women’s sport, brands, leagues and rights holders should prioritize four key aspects.

1. Improve content access

There’s an industry adage that says it’s hard to be a fan of women’s sports, and it’s hard not to be a fan of men’s sports. Why? Because of access to content, discoverability of content, and the amount of content. Women’s sports will never have a real chance at ubiquity if games are hidden on obscure channels, if highlights aren’t shared on popular channels, and if publishers don’t make more room for content about women’s sports.

Platforms This problem can be solved by creating more content for fans, creating easier ways for everyone to find it, and adopting a test and learn mentality to find out what really works for these unique audiences and channels.
Leagues, teams and rights holders can solve this problem by increasing their understanding of who fans are, why they love the sport, and what content they are looking for now and in the past.
Brands can solve this problem by focusing their investments on promoting and sharing women’s sport stories and adding real value to the fan experience through consistent and authentic sponsorship.

2. Improve the event experience

Despite the growing enthusiasm for women’s sport, many top events are still played in small and outdated stadiums. Take the WSL, for example. The 2023-2024 season saw a 43% increase in attendance, with Arsenal breaking the WSL attendance record three times and having a higher average attendance than 10 of the Premier League teams. Yet only 38% of WSL matches were played in Premier League stadiums. This discrepancy is hindering growth for all.

Leagues, teams, rights holders and brands can solve this problem by investing their activation and marketing spend into hosting women’s matches on the biggest stages and giving fans the packed and world-class event experiences they want and deserve. Access to content

3. Develop well-known names

There are three things that make leagues tick: big sporting moments, fierce competition and household names. Athletes can handle the first two things, but they need help building their brands. Making players icons is increasingly critical to the fan experience and the league’s visibility.

Leagues, teams and rights holders can solve this problem by making it easier to be a fan through broad distribution and cross-promotion, by giving players the tools they need to create effective content, and by maintaining a deep understanding of what motivates their specific fans.
Brands can solve this problem by working with young talent who have a natural connection to the brand. When done in a targeted manner, these partnerships have the dual benefit of raising the athlete’s profile while also building the brand’s credibility and status with fans.

4. Measure holistic performance

Budgets are under scrutiny and there’s pressure to deliver results with every activation. Data is essential and it needs to be comprehensive if you want to get a true picture of performance. Yes, reach and frequency are important, but how effective has the creative work been? Are you tracking engagement across all channels? Is overall attention and consideration heading in the right direction?
You need data at every turn. You also need dedicated investment to understand the impact you’re making over time. One-off campaigns rarely capture and optimize the full potential ROI.

Leagues, teams and rights holders You can solve this problem by understanding the goals of your brand and broadcast partners, comparing them to desired outcomes, and providing actionable results to drive further testing and learning.
Brands can solve this problem by setting clear goals and objectives and remaining patient and committed to holistic outcome measurement. Real connections and impact take time and require a measurement framework that captures the entire partnership in tangible and intangible terms.

When everyone wins

In Nielsen’s “Driving Value through Women’s Sports” webinar, WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison concluded the conversation by saying, “(Women’s sports) is a microcosm of the broader experience of women in the workplace: men are judged on their potential and women are judged on their performance. We need to break the cycle that continues to undervalue women and women’s sports.”

When women’s sport is given the opportunity to shine, receives support from brands and rights holders, and measurement frameworks are in place to capture holistic value, everyone wins.

For even more insight, watch Nielsen’s full conversation with Google and the WNBA on driving value in women’s sports.