Michele Renkovski’s Post

Our forecast team recently published its first estimate on US women's live sports viewers. It showed viewership has climbed a lot in the last few years, more than doubling since 2022. But women's sports still occupy just a small share of total sports viewing. This metric is defined as people who watch women's live sports at least once per month over the course of the season of at least one sport. To be clear, we are looking at habitual viewers who continue to watch through a season. We are not looking at total individuals who watched a single women’s sporting event, as that number would be significantly higher and fueled by championship events that crushed ratings. For example, the women's Olympics gymnastics finals drew many more viewers than our total here. While there is a big gap between viewers of marquee events and people who consistently watch women's sports, this could be viewed as an opportunity. The huge ratings for Olympics, NCAA basketball finals, and other championships, show that the pool of people interested in watching women's sports is much larger than it used to be. TV networks and streaming services will try to leverage that interest to bring more of those viewers in consistently. There is more on digital sports, including gambling revenues, in my report, linked in the comments.

Global women’s sports industry is set to break $1 billion! 📈 With unprecedented growth in interest and attendance, now is the time for brands to invest. 🏆 The 2024 Women’s NCAA tournament averaged nearly 19 million viewers (with a peak of 24 million viewers) for the final game between Iowa and South Carolina — up 89% from the previous year 🏀 The 2024 WNBA Draft audience increased 511% and was up 668% with female viewers ages 2-17 🎟 Overall interest in the WNBA grew 29% between 2023 and 2024 Nielsen’s latest insights can help you understand how to capitalise on this momentum. https://bit.ly/3S48Cqm Gracenote WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) NCAA NCAA NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee #sports #sportsmarketing

The momentum in women's sports doesn't stop or start with Caitlin Clark. For Sports Business Journal, I took a deep dive into viewership trends, sponsorship opportunities and brand investment into leagues like the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association), the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), college volleyball, softball and more. From Brian Lawlor at The E.W. Scripps Company Sports: "It's really hard to be a women’s sports fan in America. It’s just hard to find, and there’s no consistency on where to find these games.” The Walt Disney Company's Rita Ferro gives massive credit to Ally Financial Group's Andrea Brimmer for helping raise the tide. "It’s exciting to see what one person has pushed a marketplace to do, and now you’re seeing many others," said Ferro. Optimum Sports is seeing many clients with heavy interest in women's sports, and Octagon's Daniel Cohen says: "There’s finally a spotlight put on them, not just from a broadcaster perspective, but from a mainstream, cross-the-cultural-divide perspective." Women's sports are not just great, it's also just good business.

We’re excited to announce more news and innovation at RIP-IT Sports! 📣 Welcome Amy Craven, Our New Chief Marketing Officer! Former American Airlines executive Amy Craven joins us to lead our brand expansion and marketing of our latest innovations designed for female athletes. ·      FUTURE Volleyball Court Shoe: With enhanced traction, flex and impact reduction, it’s the first and only shoe to be certified by VERT Performance Labs. ·   Ringor Pro Softball Cleat: Engineered for female softball players to boost performance making them one step faster. 🌟 Our Mission: Enhancing Female Athletic Performance We’re committed to eliminating the ‘Pink It and Shrink It’ mentality and providing gear that truly supports female athletes. 📈 A Movement, Not Just a Moment: The rise in women's sports is more than a trend; it’s a movement. RIP-IT is leading the charge, ensuring girls and women join and stay in the game. #WomenInSports #FemaleAthletes #SportsInnovation #RIPITSports #Volleyball #Softball #Leadership #WomenEmpowerment

“It’s no secret that women’s basketball has been gaining momentum lately and we’ve seen this happen before, but in a different sport—much like women dominated March Madness in 2024, the USWNT made huge strides in viewership and exposure in 1999, a feat that would have been impossible just 30 years prior in the pre-Title IX era. The games were aired on ABC and the network was shocked by the results of the final in particular. The WWC final garnered what was considered an “astonishing” 13.3 rating—more than double what the network projected for the game. An average of 40 million viewers watched some or all of the game, outperforming the previous two men’s World Cup finals as well as the 1999 NBA Finals, and the “controversial” photo taken of of Brandi Chastain ripping her shirt off after her game-winning penalty kick is still considered one of the most iconic Sports Illustrated covers today. ‘It’s very gratifying to know that huge events still have the power to bring in huge ratings on network TV,’ said Mark Mandel, a then-spokesman for ABC, after the final. ‘Clearly there are still opportunities for networks to bring in huge numbers when games are highly dramatic.‘“ The success of this year’s women’s March Madness tournament isn’t a fluke and we know this because similar surges in popularity happened before in women’s soccer. My take on how March Madness 2024 mirrors the 1999 Women’s World Cup and why networks and stakeholders should keep leaning into women’s sports for Awful Announcing: https://lnkd.in/gW3Ydw7x

11 basketballers are in SportsPro & NorthStar Sports Solutions 50 Most Marketable athletes list. 7️⃣ are women 4️⃣ are men Living in the UK, I'm not often exposed to the explosive growth of the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) or, perhaps more importantly, the cult following that surrounds its players. Luckily, I get to sit opposite Sam Carp to solve that problem as he told me some stats from the 2024 season: 👀 Regular season viewership on ESPN up 170% 🎽 Merchandise sales up 601% 🎟️ Attendances up 48% Even better, his recent newsletter delves into why women's basketball players are so marketable, including: 🏀 The NCAA's decision to rebrand into March Madness 🤳 The impact of NIL regulations 💰 Why everything's growing, except player salaries Suddenly, the players opting out of of the CBA from 2026 onwards makes a lot more sense. It's well worth the read 👉 https://lnkd.in/e-ihWCAH

We're witnessing the transformative power of women's sports -- they're not just gaining ground, they're surging forward. According to our research and insights division, a staggering 121% year-over-year increase in media coverage of all women’s sports is a testament to this momentum. This surge is driven by the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association)'s continued epic surge, professional tennis, and NWSL, but we are seeing non-sports media and modern media outlets appealing to Gen-Z, driving the expanding coverage. The "elusive" audiences brands are trying to connect with are digesting lots of content in this area. These developments underscore an unprecedented opportunity for brands. The statistics are compelling, but the stories behind these sports, leagues, and players are even more so. Brands that authentically engage with this movement now will foster growth and reap unparalleled returns. This is a pivotal moment for #BrandStrategy and #PR. Embrace the future of sports marketing. #Sports #WomensSports

Women’s sports are shattering records, with leagues like the WNBA and NWSL seeing historic viewership and value growth. Experts predict revenues will soar, signaling a transformative moment for female athletes. Find out more about this sports revolution: https://bit.ly/3ZIYeZ6 #womenssports

In the newest NextTV article, Jon Lafayette, Business Editor of Broadcast + Cable, covers the Paris Summer Olympics, which includes coverage, star-studded events, and targeted advertising efforts. In this piece, our very own Teads Global CMO, Natalie Bastian, predicts unprecedented engagement during this year’s Olympics which we can see reflected in Teads contextual-data planning tools. She notes, "The Teads Media Barometer, powered by contextual-intelligence signals, has registered an uptick in interest in the Olympics over the last eight to 10 months." She notes that women's sports are experiencing a surge in pageviews, spurred by the Caitlin Clark effect. She adds that "even the controversy surrounding Clark being excluded from Team USA has enhanced the halo effect surrounding women's sports." To underscore the findings, she mentions that within the Media Barometer, Teads found that "8% of total Olympic pageviews are centered around the return of US Gold Medal Gymnast Simone Biles, boosted by a new Netflix documentary." Interestingly, the majority of page views on Biles is skewed towards men and spans all age groups, showing that content is consumed across all audiences. Finally, Natalie predicts that with bold-faced names going for the gold, “whether they’re making a comeback like Simone or doing their closing lap like [men’s basketball star] LeBron [James], we see that these content consumption moments are driving record viewership for the Olympics." Read the full article on NextTV >> https://hubs.li/Q02HvyWR0 #2024Olympics #ParisOlympics #WomensSports #OwntheMoment #ContextualTargeting #Contextual #CookielessSolutions #SportsMarketing #OlympicGames #DataAndInsights #MediaStrategy #OlympicCoverage #SportsFans #MarketingTrends #FemaleAthletes #Biles #Lebron

Women’s sports are shattering records, with leagues like the WNBA and NWSL seeing historic viewership and value growth. Experts predict revenues will soar, signaling a transformative moment for female athletes. Find out more about this sports revolution: https://bit.ly/3ZIYeZ6 #womenssports