Women’s sports executives weigh in on equality, media and NIL | Wilnesh News

Women’s sport reaches an inflection point in 2023, driven by major new broadcast deals, once-in-a-lifetime athletes and record-breaking audiences, dramatically changing the sporting landscape.

From Iowa’s Caitlin Clark craze to packed with 92,000 fans nebraska women’s volleyballwomen’s sports have never been more ahead of the curve.

And it’s not slowing down.

It is predicted that the revenue of women’s elite sports may exceed US$1 billion this year, a 300% increase from 2021 Deloitte’s estimate.

Deloitte said bigger media deals and more commercial sponsors are driving valuations in women’s sports to new records, with several teams expected to be worth more than $100 million by 2024.

Last year, both the NCAA and NWSL signed groundbreaking deals, setting records for media deals in women’s sports. Investors ranging from private equity to celebrities are lining up to get in on the game.

However, there is still much work to be done, particularly in areas such as equal pay, prime-time access, and even more historical data is needed.

CNBC surveyed some of the most powerful female executives in sports, including league commissioners, team owners and CEOs, to get their thoughts on the state of women in sports. Some of their answers have been edited for style, clarity and length.

Jessica Gelman, CEO of KAGR and founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference: A major obstacle is the availability of performance data to support and enhance storytelling.These stories create interest and motivation (i.e. seeing Caitlin Clark pursues NCAA scoring record).Last year, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference presented sports reference Support for adding data on college women since 1987.

Jayna Hefford, senior vice president of operations for the Women’s Professional Women’s Ice Hockey League: Women’s sports are still struggling to secure prime broadcast windows, consistent air time and traditional media coverage. Additionally, a lack of traditional media coverage has historically forced women’s teams and leagues, as well as women-owned media companies, to take the lead in promoting their own stories. While research shows companies investing in women’s sports can reap strong returns, limited visibility makes attracting brand support challenging.

Haley Rosen, CEO and Founder of Just Women’s Sports: One of the biggest barriers to progress in women’s sports today is reliance on traditional platforms. Traditional platforms are not built to support women’s sports and build momentum. Yes, they will broadcast the games. But there’s only so much time in the day for the shoulder planning and coverage needed to expand the women’s league, and traditional platforms have always prioritized the men’s sport. Ratings are rising, but the relative percentage of female sports coverage on traditional platforms has not changed.

Ladies Professional Golf Association Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan: Women’s sports today face two major obstacles: investment and exposure. We’ve made some great strides on the LPGA. Over the past four years, our total revenue has grown by 65%, and total prize money (what players earn each week for playing) has grown by 70% since 2021. This is because of investment, because of partnerships, and because corporate decision-makers see that the LPGA not only has important commercial value, but also has the opportunity to have a positive impact on the world.

Katrina Adams, former professional tennis player and former CEO of the United States Tennis Association: I think what the Women’s Tennis Association has done over the years has shown other professional sports what they can accomplish if they use your voice and your talent, and they can survive. When you look at today’s athletes – you know, we’re talking about (Caitlin Clark types) and last year’s highest-paid athletes, Sabrina Ionescu and Coco Goff – there’s a lot of these young women Opportunity to use their platform to really speak out and speak out about what it means to be on a level playing field every week.

Berman: I think we have to move from these moments to being part of a movement so that we move away from the default that these reference points are episodic, transactional or siled, so that they can translate into more sustainable growth and investment. I think the more we can show and talk about some consistent data points that show the business is actually being built in a more consistent way, the easier it will be to debunk the narrative of these one-time success stories.

Pamela Duckworth, Head of FuboTV Fubo Studios: Female athletes are multi-talented—they are also mothers, businesswomen, philanthropists, media moguls, and more. We can harness the power of compelling sporting moments to bring athletes’ stories to the forefront and connect with wider audiences in this way.

Engelbert: Sports is marketing, marketing, marketing. If you look back at the history of the NBA and the billion-dollar deals that put the league on the map, it was the college rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.And then there’s the marketing genius of Michael Jordan Nike. But you need money for marketing and advertising. I think the marketing strategy now that we have this funding is to build a household name, create competition and promote impactful games or events.

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe: Women’s sports need to continue to position their star athletes (i.e. the WNBA’s Ionescu, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart) into the same mainstream as their male counterparts – 3 point game Just a perfect example. Not surprisingly, all this investment and support is driving better performance from female athletes, which is driving greater success in areas such as the FanDuel business, where we’ve seen a 270% increase in the number of bets placed on women’s sports, the amount staked, or the amount staked An increase of 101%. This is the true flywheel effect.

Rosen: There are tens of millions of sports fans waiting to get into this space. We have to make it easy and fun for them to be female sports fans and not just rely on stand-alone moments. This means meeting them on their feeds every day, creating content that engages them and keeps them engaged with the space.