Sports Business | The GIST

Portland’s NWSL, WNBA teams launch local women’s sports channel as joint ownership unlocks powerful opportunities

Last week, the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland Fire announced that the organizations — both owned by the Bhathal family — will create a local women’s sports channel in Portland, OR, to showcase content from both teams on Fox 12 Plus. The Fire are also partnering with streaming platform Kiswe to create a dedicated team app.

March 03, 2026

Why Rebel Girls resonates with Gen Alpha sports fans

In December 2024, girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls entered the sports chat for the first time, making a splash through partnerships with two emerging women’s sports leagues: LOVB and AUSL. Rebel Girls saw its audience of Gen Alpha girls organically respond to its sports-centric content, so the brand leaned in. Over a year later, Rebel Girls is going even deeper into the sports world. Rebel Girls announced four new sports-inspired series this week, while also naming 14-year-old Pepper Persley as its first-ever brand ambassador and Emma May-Bradley as chief content and marketing officer.

February 28, 2026

Flavor Flav encourages brands to close the gender gap in sports after President Trump’s hockey debacle

Things happen fast when you’re rapper Flavor Flav. The ‘90s icon is known for his avid women’s sports fandom after supporting athletes during Paris 2024. Initially a fan of the Team USA women’s water polo team, Flav extended his endorsement to many more athletes, and the same happened at the Winter Olympics.

February 26, 2026

Emma Raducanu leaves Nike for Uniqlo as smaller brands provide unique opportunities for tennis players

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This week, British tennis star Emma Raducanu left Nike to ink a multiyear deal with Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, following in the footsteps of heavy-hitters like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The move illustrates how athletes and smaller brands have more leverage than ever when it comes to sports apparel giants. Let’s dive in.

February 26, 2026

Fanfare around Team USA women’s hockey win illustrates how far game has grown thanks to PWHL

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We’ve seen Olympic popularity spark the growth of year-round leagues, from track & field to fencing. However, the best example may be women’s hockey: As recently as 2022, there was ongoing debate about whether women’s hockey belonged at the Olympics, but the PWHL is helping rewrite the narrative.

February 24, 2026

Women’s college volleyball gets the college basketball treatment with first-of-its-kind Paradise Invitational

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Yesterday, GS Sports — a sports event company that primarily hosts elite youth basketball competitions — announced its first foray into college sports with the Paradise Invitational. This will be a first-of-its-kind NCAA women’s volleyball showcase featuring four top teams facing off in the Bahamas.

February 24, 2026

Everyone is playing (and paying) women’s flag football

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While there’s still higher male participation in the U.S., flag football is rapidly flourishing among women and girls. During the 2023–2024 season, nearly 43K girls played in high school (105% increase YoY), while other data suggests about 500K girls aged 6 to 17 years old participated at some level in 2023.

February 21, 2026

Olympic, Paralympic brands dazzle in front of record global audience at Milano Cortina 2026

Sports Business

Olympic, Paralympic brands dazzle in front of record global audience at Milano Cortina 2026

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February 19, 2026

Americans dig the Winter Olympics. Last week, the first five days of the Winter Olympics wrapped with 26.5M viewers across NBC platforms, a 93% increase over a comparable period at Beijing 2022. This has been followed with record-breaking global audiences fueled by digital and social growth: Social engagement has doubled since Beijing 2022, with Olympic digital platforms surpassing 100M users.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #534

Back to business: What’s happening in Unrivaled and the PWHL?

February 26, 2026

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

Back to business: What’s happening in Unrivaled and the PWHL?

And exhale.

Still catching your breath post-Milano Cortina Olympics? Us too — that’s why today’s episode of The GIST of It is a sporty catch-up on two of our favorite leagues: Unrivaled and the PWHL. Tune in to see what’s happening in the hottest 3v3 hoops league in the game ahead of the playoffs, before hearing all the storylines you need to know for the second half of the PWHL season.