The circle of life
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hello!
Give it up for Molson, the Montreal-based beer brand that’s brewed up some innovative marketing recently. In March, Molson made headlines for its “See My Name” campaign, which repositioned player names on PWHL jerseys to be more visible.
- And yesterday, the brand announced its sponsorship of the unsung heroes of Canada’s Olympic squad — athletes’ parents. Nine Team Canada parents will star in a commercial and receive paid contracts, social media features, and at least one Molson. Cheers.
WNBA
⭐ All the stars
The GIST: This year’s WNBA All-Star Weekend (ASW) became an epicenter for women’s basketball culture like never before, and it was more than just brands (and celebs) showing up at the marquee event. As expected, fans tuned in on TV, which sponsors anticipated and prepped for with numerous ASW activations. The circle of life.
📺 The All-Star Game (ASG) showdown in Phoenix on Saturday drew 3.44M viewers, a new record for the event. That’s 305% more viewers than last year’s game and 139% more viewers than the previous ASG viewership record of 1.44M from 2003. It was also the most-watched WNBA event ever on any ESPN network, and the third most-watched W game in history.
- In 2003, fans were tuning in to see legends like Sue Bird and Sheryl Swoopes take on Teresa Weatherspoon and Dawn Staley on ABC. This year, fans were able to tune in on ABC or stream on Fubo, with streamers being key in W viewership numbers— the WNBA App has already seen exponential YoY growth this season. Dialed in.
👀 Tension on the Team WNBA side may have driven viewership. Star players like Arike Ogunbowale (pronounced ah-REE-kay oh-goon-bow-WAH-lay) and Caitlin Clark — both of whom were considered Olympic roster “snubs” — proved that the WNBA standouts could hold their own by beating the Olympic squad set to represent the U.S. in Paris next week.
- Not to mention the fact that Angel Reese, who has been fostering a budding rivalry with Clark, played alongside her on Team WNBA, which understandably drew interest.
🤩 Welcome to the WNBA’s new normal. Before this season, WNBA games hadn’t surpassed the 1M average game viewership mark in 16 years, per Front Office Sports. This year, W broadcasts have broken the 1M mark 17 (!!!) times, with Clark featuring in 15 of those games.
- So it’s no wonder the league is inking partnerships halfway through the season with WNBA newbies like New Balance and Bumble. The W is getting bigger, and so is its young, diverse audience, one that brands are hoping to target. No more step backs.
NWSL
🔥 Blazing a trail
The GIST: Women’s soccer players have been featured in primetime more than ever this year — and no, we’re not just talking about the matches on TV. Many active and retired women’s soccer stars are going from the pitch to the mic as they’re increasingly seen as assets in the media game. Let’s dig into some of the biggest names.
Sam Mewis: In January, Mewis was named editor-in-chief (EIC) of Men In Blazers Media Network’s (MIB) vertical The Women’s Game after retiring from pro soccer. Previously, she led MIB’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage as a member of the USWNT and last week, she hosted a USWNT altcast on TruTV and Max.
- According to MIB, in the six months since Mewis was named EIC, The Women’s Game’s social channels have aggregated 100K followers and garnered about 100M impressions, while its podcast has been ranked as the top soccer podcast in the U.S. and has held a top-5 ranking since its launch.
- Mewis’ assist led to this exclusive update shared yesterday with The GIST: The Women’s Game will preview every USWNT game at Paris 2024, where she will interview USWNT players like her sister Kristie Mewis, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Midge Purce.
Ali Krieger: This season — ESPN’s first covering the NWSL — has featured Krieger as a studio analyst in all soccer programming across ABC and ESPN platforms. But two months before ESPN signed her in March, Krieger was hired by CBS as its studio analyst for soccer programming. Booked and busy.
Christen Press and Tobin Heath: The beloved NWSL couple helms one of Apple’s top soccer podcasts: The RE—CAP Show. The Ally-sponsored pod also has high YouTube engagement, with the first episode of its third season landing 77K views and counting. Similar to Mewis’ content, RE—CAP pulls from their women’s soccer connections — that episode features Abby Wambach.
- At the end of the day, media is a personality-driven industry, so it’s unsurprising that longtime USWNT fan favorites are heading up popular shows that get dedicated women’s soccer fans to tune in. A permanent fixture.
Giveaway Alert
There’s no better way to level up your summer than by attending Tennis Canada’s UNMATCHED Gender Equity in Sports Conference. We’re giving away two tickets to the third edition of this event on August 7th at the Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario, and it promises to be filled with aces.
The speakers and special guests include:
🎾 Seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Venus Williams, Keynote Speaker
🎙️ Toronto Blue Jays host Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae, Host
🏒 Three-time Olympic medallist and 2024 PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner, Speaker
What a Grand Slam lineup, eh? Enter to win today.
💸 TNT Sports’ parent Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) sent a NBA media rights offer matching Amazon’s estimated $1.8B annual payout, which includes WNBA rights. Do we hear Inside The WNBA?
🏎️ All-electric racing circuit Formula E bought the IP rights to the former W Series, a pioneering all-female pro racing series that went defunct last year.
▶️ The UK’s Women’s Super League (WSL) announced that YouTube will become the league’s main streaming service and feature 66 games next season. Like, comment, subscribe.
🏛️ European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe announced their intent to file a joint complaint against FIFA to challenge its continued expansion of the international calendar amid the women’s soccer’s ACL epidemic.
🏀 The Chicago Sky may move its practice facility to the $38M Wintrust Sports Complex, a major step up from the team’s current digs.
🇪🇸 Spanish soccer star Aitana Bonmatí is officially back with Adidas after a short-lived Nike deal, notching the largest commercial contract of its kind for a women’s soccer player. ¡Qué fuerte!
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Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🎧 What to listen to
Good Follow, the new women’s sports podcast celebrating the gals’ game, culture, comedy, and lifestyle.
📚 What to read
This article on the criteria countries use to select Olympic athletes, particularly in track & field. A case against the Swedish Olympic Committee has the potential to change the game for many future athletes.
🇭🇹 What to check out
These ’fits. Fashion designer Stella Jean absolutely cooked on Team Haiti’s 2024 Olympic uniforms, integrating the nation’s rich history and future into the stunning threads.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Dee Lab. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Lisa Minutillo. Ads by Alexis Allison, Katie Kehoe Foster, and Alessandra Puccio. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop.