For the girls
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Friday!
It’s definitely a great Friday for the NY Liberty: The team reportedly sold a stake that puts its value at $450M, the most of any pro women’s sports franchise globally. It’s an impressive jump for the reigning WNBA champs, which ranked third in the league with a $130M valuation last June.
- The Liberty’s valuation leap isn’t surprising when considering the elite brands — Fenty, Away, and Liberty Mutual, for example — it’s been partnering with, all of which were bagged in the past month. Nothing but net.
Media
📺 In the Zone
The GIST: Sports-focused FAST channel Fubo recently launched its Women's Sports Zone while touting highly-customizable ad campaigns for brands. Inspired by viewers’ interest in women’s sports, Fubo found a way to activate in the space without having any direct media rights for a major league. A total game-changer.
The details: Fubo currently distributes several sports networks that air women’s sports, including ESPN, CBS, Ion, WNBA on Ion, and WSN. This means the Women’s Sports Zone can aggregate games from the WNBA, NWSL, women’s March Madness, and other major women’s sporting events available on these networks.
- According to Fubo, the decision to create this hub was motivated by the fact that 61% of its subscribers watch women’s sports on the platform, while half considered themselves to be either moderate or super fans of women’s sports content.
The landscape: While Fubo has produced women’s sports content like The Syd + TP Show, it’s following in the footsteps of platforms like Roku and its dedicated NWSL zone, which launched in March. Roku and FAST competitor Tubi have also been focused on producing original women’s sports content, while entire FAST channels devoted to women’s sports have been popping up.
- However, there is one major factor playing in Fubo’s favor: The company recently agreed to a merger with Disney-owned Hulu, which will broaden Fubo’s reach and its access to women’s sports programming. While it may not be first, it could soon have the widest array of women’s sports content among the competition.
Zooming out: A merger with Hulu may be the answer Fubo needed in how to get involved in women’s sports, but only time will tell. As for advertisers, Fubo could potentially represent a way to activate around women’s sports at a lower price point rather than directly pairing up with a bigger network like ESPN, which has also seen intensified competition for ad inventory.
- While the hub concept is still relatively new among these networks, it already seems to be attracting brand interest. Fubo said a major financial brand has already committed to advertising in its new hub with specific interactive ad programming tied to the WNBA season. Sold.
Sports
💄 No E.l.f.ing way
The GIST: We’ve seen makeup brands go big in women’s sports lately, including E.l.f.’s support of the PWHL and Overtime Select. But the brand’s decision to rev up its investment in NASCAR, coupled with previous NFL activations, shows that catering to women who follow men’s sports is a unique and effective way to reach a historically overlooked demo. Because she’s worth it.
The campaign: Back for a second year of partnership with NASCAR, E.l.f.’s Power Grip Garage will promote its products through a glam station and meet and greets with brand athlete Katherine Legge. It also includes a dedicated space for fans to record videos for Legge before she competes as the only woman driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ BetMGM 300 event.
The NASCAR opportunity: In 2020, NASCAR estimated women comprised 40% of its fanbase and claimed the most women TV viewers per event in U.S. sports outside the NFL. According to E.l.f. CMO Kory Marchisotto, these fans are more likely to “watch sports on TV, listen on the radio, and attend a live event” compared to other sports, which is why E.l.f. wanted to connect with them.
The context: The NFL has seen its percentage of women viewers increase from 51% in 2020 to 57% in 2023, hence skincare brands like E.l.f. becoming interested in reaching women fans through the league. When E.l.f. aired a regional Super Bowl ad in 2023, the spot generated more than 60B impressions, prompted a 90% bump in web traffic, and boosted product sales.
- This is something Sephora highlighted in its partnership with Netflix’s Running Point: Advertisers in men’s sports have traditionally overlooked the power of women fans, but that’s quickly changing. Skims activated in the NBA and WNBA, Lululemon broke the internet with its NHL collection, and beauty brands doubled down at Super Bowl LIX.
Zooming out: While we’ve often distinguished that women’s sports fans aren’t all women (in fact, the majority of them are men), brands are realizing that not all men’s sports fans are men — and women in this space are eager to support the brands that recognize this. This one’s for the girls.
Together With Lazarus Naturals
🍸 One fruity delight without the hangover, please
💕 It’s officially colorful cocktail season, but that blast in a glass will probably cripple tomorrow’s early morning yoga class. Unless, of course, you skip the booze and add Lazarus Naturals’ Strawberry Lemonade CBD tincture instead.
- Lazarus Naturals’ high-quality products make it easy to experiment with CBD, especially when you take 20% off with code GIST20. Find sweet relief after a long day — without the headache or hang-xiety — with your new favorite 5 p.m. treat.
🍀 Boston Legacy FC announces 2026 debut at Gillette Stadium
Boston’s new NWSL club will officially kick off its inaugural season inside Foxborough’s 20K-seater stadium, a pivot from the team’s original plan to play at Boston’s White Stadium. After significant renovation delays, White Stadium won’t be ready until 2027, meaning the NWSL club will share the pitch with the NFL’s New England Patriots and MLS’ Revolution.
- NWSL clubs have had fantastic luck playing in expansive men’s sports stadiums: Chicago Stars FC drew over 35K fans and shattered the NWSL’s attendance record at Wrigley Field last year, a milestone Bay FC is hoping to topple when it hosts a match at Oracle Park in August. Play ball.
💰 Atlanta Dream teams up with digital wallet Cash App and streetwear brand Playa Society
After announcing Cash App as the team’s financial services partner earlier this month, the WNBA team recruited Playa Society to the partnership and launched the collaborative campaign with a center-court redesign. The court was treated to a massive spotlight in the Dream’s home opener vs. the Indiana Fever before being donated to a local youth organization.
- Cash App first entered the W space in a partnership with Chicago Sky star Angel Reese last year, saying the most-followed WNBA athlete appeals to the app’s customers by blending sports and culture.
🐶 Purina announces partnership with Men In Blazers and Sam Mewis
The pet food brand was named the soccer network’s first pet food and pet treats partner and is already sniffing out ways to connect with pet-owning soccer fans. They’re kicking off a unique content partnership that includes a special five-episode series hosted by former NWSL and USWNT star Sam Mewis for The Women’s Game.
- The series features heartwarming stories about pets from soccer’s biggest stars, and it isn’t the first time women’s soccer has made this connection. In April, the NC Courage and Orlando Pride officially welcomed pups to NWSL games, while the Washington Spirit partnered with Mars for a similar dog-driven activation. Woof.
📸 LA Sparks star Cameron Brink is a cover athlete for Players, the new biannual collectible magazine celebrating the intersection of sports, fashion and culture. ‘Cause girls is players too.
⛳ Former TopGolf and PGA of America COO Craig Kessler was recently elected LPGA commissioner.
⚽ The inaugural World Sevens Football tournament began in Portugal this week featuring eight top-flight European soccer teams competing for $5M in prize money.
🏟️ Denver City Council approved a $70M investment from the city to acquire land for the city’s new NWSL stadium and build off-site improvements.
📺 Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision inked a new agreement with Concacaf to cover all premier women’s football competitions through 2030. Que bueno.
Giveaway Alert
⚽ There’s never been a better time to be a soccer fan in North America, with multiple upcoming men’s tourneys on home soil starting this summer. And today, we’re giving away a trip to NYC to catch the championship match at one of those competitions this July.
Enter now for a chance to win:
🍳 A three-night stay for two at INNSiDE by Meliá New York NoMad, breakfast included.
🎟️ Two tickets to the championship game at MetLife Stadium.
💰 A $250 Visa gift card for transportation to and from the match, plus $1K cash for airfare.
Already planning your game day ’fit? Then shoot your shot for a chance to see some of the world’s best footballers in-person. Golazos.
Here’s what passed The GIST squad’s vibe check this week:
📰 What to read
This powerful piece on harassment in women’s sports. Athletes are speaking up — it's time to listen.
🦈 Who to know
Lewis Pugh, the guy swimming around Martha’s Vineyard to save sharks. Yes, way.
🎧 What to listen to
Bird’s Eye View, Sue Bird’s new podcast breaking down the WNBA season with stories, star interviews, and her signature dry humor.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.