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✨ All the world’s a stage

✨ All the world’s a stage

Sports Business

Athlos plans on debuting long jump event in unique Times Square venue

Athlos — the women’s track meet launched last year — is returning this fall with a clever plan to win over fans. Yesterday, the organization confirmed it will host a portion of its competition in the heart of Times Square. This is reminiscent of recent PLL and WLL strategy, illustrating how niche sports and upstart leagues are using unconventional gimmicks to hook viewers.

🔥 A fiery debate

🔥 A fiery debate

Portland Fire unveils team branding amid mixed fan reactions

Yesterday, Portland’s WNBA expansion team finally launched its long-awaited brand reveal, showcasing its name and logo as the Portland Fire. While there are some local criticisms about the name, Portland made this decision with significant intentionality, which may have influenced the overall positive response to the name.

🙌 Win them over

🙌 Win them over

WNBA sponsors lean into winning marketing trends at this year’s WNBA Live event

This year will mark the fourth edition of WNBA Live at WNBA All-Star Weekend, where 25 event sponsors will offer IRL activations for fans. The efficacy of experiential advertising pairs well with the impressive purchase consideration from women’s sports fans, who boast higher awareness and devotion to sponsors in women’s sports.

AdWeek shares TrackSuit insights on Gen Z brand consideration in 2025

On Wednesday, AdWeek published purchase consideration insights from brand tracking platform Tracksuit. The data highlights the biggest shifts in purchase consideration among popular Gen Z brands from January to June, proving that authenticity and wellness work best to win over young fans. Here are the key takeaways and the ways they’re being implemented across women’s sports.

🥍 Rollin’ on the river

🥍 Rollin’ on the river

PLL and WLL play lacrosse’s first game on water as sports leagues consider alternative venues

Tomorrow, the men’s Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and its new women’s arm, the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), will be playing the sport’s first-ever match on a river — a stunt tied to mutual brand partner Whirlpool.

🐝 Buzz buzz

🐝 Buzz buzz

SponsorUnited reveals June’s most popular brands based on marketing campaign buzz

Last week, sports sponsorship data insights platform SponsorUnited revealed the 30 most-searched sponsors on its platform for June. The platform’s search data indicated which brands were most buzzworthy last month, with each employing different marketing strategies to make waves with sports fans.

🏀 All around the world

🏀 All around the world

WNBA announces three new expansion teams as league favors experienced ownership

The WNBA tipped off Monday with major news: The league is awarding three new expansion franchises to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Each of the winning bids agreed to pay a record $250M expansion fee — higher than the valuations of half the W — with additional investments committed to team and facility development.

🎾 The grass is always greener

🎾 The grass is always greener

Sports Business

SponsorPulse shares data insights on Wimbledon fandom in U.S. as sponsorship opportunities loom

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June 30, 2025

With Wimbledon coming up, SponsorPulse followed up 2024 data insights on Wimbledon fandom in the U.S., illustrating the fan profile and opportunity for brands to engage as the British Grand Slam faces growth challenges.

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The GIST of It Podcast

El's going to WNBA All-Star Weekend

July 17, 2025

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El's going to WNBA All-Star Weekend

El's going to WNBA All-Star Weekend

Hey now, you’re an All-Star.

Cue up Smash Mouth because it’s officially WNBA All-Star Weekend — and The GIST of It co-host Ellen Hyslop will be in Indianapolis for all the fun. Tune in to this episode to hear El and Steph Rotz preview the weekend, from the on-court festivities to the off-court negotiations surrounding the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Can you say spicy?

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🍺 Bar down

🍺 Bar down

3XBA collabs with Rough & Tumble as sports leagues explore women’s sports bar partnerships

Last week, 3XBA — a professional touring FIBA 3x3 women’s basketball league — announced a unique partnership with Seattle’s Rough & Tumble Pub, the second-ever women’s sports bar. Through their new agreement, the two entities will promote one another through activations at live events.

✨ New kids on the block

✨ New kids on the block

Sportico releases WNBA valuations as Golden State tops the list at $500M

Yesterday, Sportico published its estimated WNBA valuations, illustrating YoY valuation gains for teams across the board. One significant surprise? The financial power of the Golden State Valkyries, which tipped off its inaugural season last month and already leads the league in valuation, just ahead of the NY Liberty and Indiana Fever.

📺 Dialed in

📺 Dialed in

Sundial Media and Technology Group inks unique partnership with Grand Slam Track

Sundial Media and Technology Group (SMTG) — the media and live events company behind Essence, Afropunk, and Refinery29 — finalized a unique partnership with Grand Slam Track (GST), a new track and field competition that kicked off this year. SMTG will facilitate media coverage of GST in addition to improving track day experiences for fans.

🚦 Red light, greenlight

🚦 Red light, greenlight

Tubi secures rights to new Naomi Osaka project as streamers develop more women’s sports content

As interest in women’s sports grows, so does the enthusiasm for content surrounding the women’s game. After seeing Netflix benefit from cult faves Drive to Survive and Full Swing, documentaries that converted new fans to F1 and golf, fellow streamers are considering how to leverage storytelling to win over young, more casual sports fans.

🏀 Friday night lights

🏀 Friday night lights

Ion bags WNBA on Friday nights as network touts benefits of appointment viewing

On Friday, Scripps-owned network Ion Television renewed its media rights agreement with the WNBA nearly a year after the league inked a joint multinetwork package alongside the NBA. Despite the WNBA’s attainment of expensive, major network deals, there’s still considerable value in what Ion uniquely brings to the table: A distinct audience and capacity for appointment viewing.

📈 A recipe for success

📈 A recipe for success

Investing in women athletes could be a game-changer for brands

Unlike the limit, the perfect women’s sports brand marketing strategy does exist — at least according to Parity, who released its latest research report yesterday about the business of women’s sports.

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