It’s been almost a week since this year’s Madness and I can’t stop thinking about what a shift we got to witness in women’s sports – and women’s sports marketing.
🥇 We saw impressive records broken by players, coaches, and fans. As a basketball fan, you love to see it.
🌟 We saw a shift in how the media covered women’s sports, with headlines and stories that started giving female athletes the attention they deserve. As a woman, it’s always my favourite to see other women succeed in the spotlight.
💰 And, more than that, we saw huge growth in the economic potential (now proven impact) of women excelling became undeniable. As marketing nerd, I am maybe MOST excited about this!
TOGETHXR pulled together a great summary of some big numbers from this year’s dance that put into frame how impressive it really was to see the way the business of sports continues to evolve:
🏀 1.9M average viewership for ESPN’s Selection Sunday (52%+ from 2023)
🏀 18,300 fans sold out the Championship Game
🏀 Nearly 100 advertisers + 30 sponsors sold out ESPN’s lineup for the Championship Game
🏀 $25M estimated economic impact for the city of Cleveland, according to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
In another study, Deloitte forecasts that the “revenue generated by women’s elite sports will surpass US$1 billion for the first time” (US$1.28 billion total projected), with over half of this being driven by commercial revenues.
The opportunity is there. I can’t wait to see momentum grow in other arenas for women and women’s sports marketing.
