New report details record global search interest in women’s sports

The GIST: This week, UK marketing agency Redtorch released its SportOnSearch 2024 report, which analyzes fan engagement with sports properties via Google Trends data. The findings show interest in women’s sports across the board — in fact, all women’s sports properties recorded growth in 2023. Keep reading for more key findings from the report.

⚽ The WSL is poised for exponential growth. The English women’s soccer league fielded a 258% increase in online searches, the most for any sports property. This means a higher jump in search interest than MLS, and that’s with the advent of Messi Mania and Apple’s 10-year broadcasting deal. Hello, leverage.

📺 Media rights make a difference. The UEFA Women’s Champions League (WCL) ranked in the top five for searches and experienced major growth after rights holder DAZN made all 2022-2023 games free to air. Growth in tournament interest was also driven by its six most popular teams, including FC Barcelona, Arsenal, and Chelsea.

📈 Women dominate the conversation. Six of the top 10 for search frequency increase were women’s sports properties. They included soccer’s NWSL, WSL, and UEFA WCL, as well as basketball’s WNBA and EuroLeague Women. Rugby’s Women’s Six Nations Championship — a new entry to the report — saw 59% growth YoY.

• This increase for the annual European women’s rugby tournament was driven by interest in the women’s Rugby World Cup and a trendy TikTok partnership. Like DAZN, coverage and investment from UK broadcaster BBC also boosted exposure.

🌎 Global sports stars create local interest. For global athletes participating in North American leagues, big wins generated interest back home. LPGA world No. 3 Lydia Ko from New Zealand and WTA world No. 1 Iga Świątek of Poland saw increased interest and searches in their home countries.

The takeaway: Heightened search interest in women’s sports usually happens around tentpole events like the Women’s World Cup and the Olympics, but the key is creating sustained engagement throughout the sports calendar. Gimme more.