This week, Google released its January Google Trends data report on search engine insights across sports. The data reflected key topics driving the conversation across women’s sports, including Unrivaled’s launch, NWSL expansion, and unexpected Australian Open winner Madison Keys.

Sportico shared insights yesterday about U.S. insurance giants backing away from advertising in the big game. While insurers aren’t activating around the (very expensive) Super Bowl as much as they used to, companies like State Farm are stepping up spend in a low cost, high ROI space: women’s basketball.

As the first weekend of Black History Month (BHM) comes to an end, today we’re celebrating Black sportspeople who’ve broken barriers in sports — from the court to the field to those calling the shots.

This week, Deloitte shared findings from the Athena Pledge, a research collaboration driven by key sponsors to evaluate the marketing potential in women’s sports. According to the data, sponsorships grew 22% YoY across women’s professional leagues, teams, and athletes in 2024.

A U.S. ban on social media app TikTok is set to go into effect Sunday, which will have broad repercussions across the sports landscape. While major media networks may be minimally affected by the ban, casual sports fans and content creators — especially women athletes — will feel the loss.

Venu Sports — the bundled, sports-focused app created by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery — was shelved Friday without ever hitting the market. After a year of legal battles, the premise of Venu continued to raise antitrust concerns, even after Disney dissolved its contentious lawsuit with FuboTV.

On Monday, tennis star Coco Gauff joined a long list of athlete investors backing 3v3 basketball league Unrivaled, which has secured $35M in total funding. Gauff’s investment highlights how WTA athletes have proven to be adept investors across the board.

P.R.O.S. Sports Housing — a company that provides short-term housing for pro athletes — rebranded as Mavrx Sports Housing and announced a new partnership with Las Vegas Aces star Sydney Colson this week. Mavrx is the latest company to enter the WNBA space by teaming up with Colson, who’s been renowned for her marketability.

On Friday, Unrivaled debuted an innovative multiyear partnership with popular beauty retailer Sephora. This is the latest beauty partnership in the women’s sports space, as companies have begun to realize women athletes are the ideal brand marketers thanks to their authenticity and reach.

That’s right, it’s time to stop writing 2024 on your checks and papers — the new year is officially here. In celebration of the turning of the calendar, today’s Scroll features a handful of the sports events and moments The GIST HQ can’t wait for in 2025. It’s going to be a great one.

December was a winning month for sports ratings, with the NFL and NBA both benefiting from holiday downtime and marquee broadcasts. While most women’s pro sports leagues were on the sidelines last month, women’s college sports are quickly proving they can also capitalize on prime December viewership.

Several top-25 basketball games are on tap this weekend, but none bigger than Paige Bueckers’ No. 4 UConn taking on JuJu Watkins’ No. 7 USC tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.