Bet on it
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hello!
January is no longer a cold month on the women’s sports calendar. Thanks to the brand-new PWHL, things are heating up as millions tune in and dedicated media coverage forms. If Saturday night was a movie, PWHL Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle deserves a Golden Globe for best — and so far only — hat trick in the league. A chilling performance.
PWHL
🏒 Pucking up steam
The GIST: It’s been eight days since the puck dropped for the first-ever PWHL game, and in that span, the league has broken the attendance record for pro women’s hockey — twice — and seen viewership numbers in the millions. Here are some of the biggest highlights of the women’s hockey takeover.
🏒 A State of Hockey stunner
Over 13.3K fans poured into the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday to rally the Minnesota PWHL team to a home-opener victory. But the fans did more than that — they shattered the attendance record for a pro women’s hockey game that was set just five days earlier at Ottawa’s home opener. In our PWHL era.
- It’s worth noting the arena size differences among PWHL teams. The Xcel Center, also home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, boasts 18K seats, whereas Ottawa’s Arena at TD Place maxes out at 8.5K. Plus, Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Center is way too small for the city’s PWHL interest — its 2.6K capacity is already claimed for the whole season.
📺 A hit new show, eh?
The PWHL’s season opener between Toronto and NYC packed the house, but its Canadian TV viewership proved to be the real showstopper. The match drew 2.9M viewers across Canadian networks, including TSN, Sportsnet, and CBC, beating out the NHL Winter Classic and both College Football Playoff semifinal games for highest-viewed sports program of the day across all three networks.
📱 Everything, everywhere, all at once
In addition to the PWHL’s media deals with Canadian national broadcasters and American regional sports networks (RSNs), it streams all games for free on YouTube, which is quickly demonstrating the league’s widespread appeal. The season opener has been viewed over 132K times, Montreal against Ottawa 131K times, and Minnesota vs. Boston has been watched a whopping 138K times.
- This is a critical metric considering the PWHL’s fanbase. While hockey fans across Canada can tune in, American viewers are restricted by the PWHL’s localized RSN deals. The YouTube viewership indicates potential interest outside of the PWHL’s markets and represent important numbers for future media rights negotiations.
🇨🇦 Top shelf partners
The U.S. isn’t just missing out on PWHL TV action — there’s a serious dearth of American partners. Canadian Tire is the first founding sponsor and Air Canada is the inaugural premier partner, but no elite U.S. brands have stepped up. When the PWHL eventually rolls out team branding, American sponsors should follow Air Canada’s example by nabbing prime jersey real estate. Coming in hot.
Together With Simon & Schuster
📖 Get calm and stay focused
There’s no time like a new year to make a change, especially if you’re feeling unfocused after the holidays or just plain burnt out. Thankfully, top performance psychologist Dr. Dana Sinclair is here to help push your productivity to new heights.
- In her new book Dialed In, Dr. Dana shares 20 years of lessons she’s used with Olympians, NFL and NBA athletes, and more, revealing tried and true tips that easily translate from the field of play to the workplace.
Dr. Dana explains topics like why confidence is overrated and why your so-called “effective work routine” might actually be bogging you down. Ready to set yourself up for success? Pick up Dialed In today.
💸 NIL collectives seek tax shelter through nonprofits
Sportico did a deep dive into how for-profit NIL collectives like Blueprint benefit from having a companion charity that receives donations for NIL payments. Blueprint’s 501(c)(3), the BPS Foundation, facilitates a tax-exempt way for boosters to give athletes NIL money, a gray area in terms of tax code. Hmm…
💰 Sports betting faces key legal battles beyond 2024
Twelve U.S. states, including Texas, have yet to legalize sports betting and most seem unlikely to do so in 2024. If Dallas Mavericks ownership has its way, however, legalized sports betting may come sooner rather than later despite staunch government opposition in a state where inhabitants bet an estimated $6.23B annually on sports — illegally, that is.
👟 Peloton bounces back with TikTok collab
After news broke that Peloton would be teaming up with TikTok, shares of the beleaguered fitness company closed nearly 14% higher on Thursday and kept rising in premarket trading on Friday. Through the partnership, Peloton will feature fitness-inspired short videos and work with TikTok creators on content.
- While brands have been known to successfully tap influencers for an awareness boost, partnering with the company that actually gives the influencers a platform and is expected to top the list in average daily usage minutes by 2025 is a smart move. Plus, appealing to tech-savvy Gen Z users never hurts.
💼 The NWSL’s Washington Spirit named Kim Stone as the club’s first-ever CEO.
🌎 Former ESPN executive Marie Donoghue is reportedly leaving her Prime Video post as VP of global sports video.
⚽ Chelsea striker (and Australian soccer queen) Sam Kerr tore her ACL before her contract expires later this year. The toughest break.
🏎️ Formula E, the racing championship exclusively for electric cars, has appointed sports marketing industry veteran Tiziana Di Gioia as its chief revenue officer.
📈 LSU hooper Angel Reese is one of five breakout athletes who gained over 2M social media followers in 2023, largely thanks to her triumphant women’s March Madness run. Life-changing.
⚾ Sara Sanchez joined the Miami Marlins as the MLB team’s vice president of human resources and will also oversee the club’s culture committees.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🏈 What to read
This perspective on NFL Owners' conduct policies in light of Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper's recent fine for an altercation with fans.
🎶 How to travel
With the Airfly Pro Bluetooth transmitter, a travel essential for seamless flight entertainment in 2024.
⚽ What to watch
Under Pressure (Sweden’s Version). It’s sure to offer an interesting perspective on the opponent’s experience during last year’s contentious World Cup journey.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Lisa Minutillo. Ads by Lauren Tuiskula, Dee Lab and Alexis Allison. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop.