🔥 Blazing a trail
Former USWNT players bringing starpower and views to broadcast platforms
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.
July 24, 2024
📺 Maxed out
Warner Bros. Discovery leans into sports media trend with first-ever USWNT altcast
Following parent company Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) decision to add live men’s sports to HBO in October, revamped WBD-owned channel TruTV and Max — HBO’s streamer announced their first-ever USWNT alternative telecast (aka altcast) yesterday.
July 12, 2024
💰 It’s a small world
Disney CEO Bob Iger and USC Dean Willow Bay to purchase Angel City FC at a record-high valuation
After putting its controlling stake up for sale in March, Angel City FC is seeing even more big-name buy-in. As mentioned on Wednesday, longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, USC journalism school dean Willow Bay, are reportedly purchasing that controlling stake in the NWSL club, which now has a reported valuation between $250M and $300M.
July 08, 2024
⚽ You’re Reading that right
Reading FC Women falls to fifth tier of UK women’s soccer amid club’s financial freefall
Despite the rising popularity of women’s soccer in the U.K., the standing of Reading FC Women has dipped from bad to worse. Per SportsPro Media, the team, which played in the second-tier Women’s Championship (WC) last season, recently applied for fifth-tier status as finances have rendered the club unable to meet WC’s compliance requirements.
July 03, 2024
🇬🇧 The revolution will be telly-vised
WSL touts average length of match viewership as key audience engagement metric
The Women’s Super League (WSL) is getting bigger and better, and the numbers continue to prove it. After the season wrapped in May, new data from the Women’s Sport Trust (WST) and Future Sport & Entertainment indicate UK soccer fans are spending more time watching WSL matches than ever before.
July 01, 2024
🌱 Grow what you know
Angel City FC investor Jennifer Garner coordinates partnership with her nutritional snacks company
Actress and Angel City FC (ACFC) investor Jennifer Garner is wielding the power of the highest-valued NWSL team to promote her other ventures. On Tuesday, ACFC announced a multiyear partnership with Garner’s children’s nutrition company, Once Upon a Farm.
June 21, 2024
📈 Big-game players
New Deloitte data demonstrates massive WSL revenue growth
Recent investment in the UK’s Women’s Super League (WSL) — from the development of NewCo to expanded broadcast deals — has led to immediate and explosive ROI. According to new Deloitte data from the 2022-23 season (following England’s 2022 Euros win), the aggregate revenue of WSL clubs rose 50% to $50.8M. Here’s more from the game-changing report.
June 21, 2024
⚽ Champions of the world
AFC shares details for inaugural Women’s Champions League competition
June 17, 2024
Women’s soccer is growing globally, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s Women’s Champions League is a key example of this. The inaugural tournament will kick off this August after piquing the interest of 22 of the confederation’s 47 member nations and announcing $1.3M in prize money.
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Ep #384

Gender parity at the Paris Olympics

July 25, 2024
Gender parity at the Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics are almost here!

In a very special episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dive into gender parity at the Olympics, sponsored by our pals at Canadian Tire. Since 1900 when women first competed at the Olympics to 2024, there’s been enormous progress in terms of gender equity at the Games — and the Paris Olympics will be the most equitable ever.

In addition to discussing the history of women at the Olympics, this episode features two insightful conversations with Kim Saunders of Canadian Tire and Julia Wilkinson, a former Team Canada Olympic swimmer, who have both seen the growth of women’s sports firsthand from a business and athlete perspective. Trust us — you don’t want to miss this.

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💰 Putting the “fun” in fund
Sports fund nearly doubles capital raise as it targets Angel City FC stake
A few months after Angel City FC announced its controlling equity stake sale, a likely contender for club control has emerged — former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Opportunities Fund. Following its October launch, a new Sportico report indicates the fund has already raised $445.1M as it targets rising sports properties like Angel City.
June 14, 2024
⚽ Selling the pitch
Canada’s NSL secures national broadcasting deals with TSN, CBC
The Northern Super League (NSL), Canada's new professional women’s soccer league, is coming in hot. Yesterday, it announced a multiyear media partnership with Bell Media’s TSN/RDS and CBC/Radio-Canada, the nation’s top English and French networks, making the league accessible across Canada in its two official languages.
June 12, 2024
⚽ Fútbol is life
NWSL leads the way in marketing to Latinx fans in the U.S.
With the popularity of sports like soccer and baseball throughout Latin America, men’s sports leagues like La Liga and MLB are investing heavily in marketing toward Latinx fans in the U.S. It’s also a strategy the NWSL and franchises with sizable Latinx communities like L.A.’s Angel City FC have been in on since the get-go.
June 03, 2024
♻️ A recycle kick
UK survey reveals passion for environmental sustainability among women’s soccer players
As the NWSL considers charter flights, it’s worth noting that private travel in pro sports produces an enormous carbon footprint. As sports become increasingly global and women’s sports secure more resources, a new report from the UK women’s soccer space found that 95% of players think the beautiful game must reduce its carbon footprint.
May 31, 2024
⭐ Our Northern Star
Project 8 officially announces six-team Canadian pro women’s soccer league
Project 8 — the company founded by Canadian soccer star Diana Matheson to develop a domestic pro women’s soccer league in Canada — is officially ready for takeoff. Yesterday, Matheson unveiled the new name and branding for the six-team Northern Super League (NSL) with plans for an April 2025 kickoff.
May 29, 2024
⚽ 2031 is gonna be our year
U.S. and Mexico withdraw their bid to host 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup
The U.S. and Mexico have officially withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC), leaving Brazil and a joint bid from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the race. The North American contingent noted it will instead focus on securing rights for 2031, which they believe has potential for bigger ROI.
May 01, 2024