This year’s women’s March Madness is expected to outperform the men’s across a variety of metrics, in large part thanks to Sedona Prince’s whistleblowing in 2021 that shed light on the gender disparity between the men’s and women’s tournaments. Here’s how the competition has grown in the years since.

The 2023-24 NCAA women’s basketball season was one for the books, and it’s not even over yet. Leading up to March Madness, women’s collegiate conference tournaments shattered records across the board, with the Big Ten and SEC tournaments drawing viewership in the millions.

According to The Telegraph, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) wants to merge the WTA and ATP tennis tours with a limited-time, $2B offer that expires in 90 days. The rebranded PIF Tour would reportedly replace the proposed Premium Tour, a joint WTA–ATP circuit that’s been in development since January.

Commerce behemoth Amazon is expanding its recent NWSL media rights deal through a multiyear partnership with the league that involves Amazon Prime and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Additionally, the deal makes Amazon the exclusive retail partner of the NWSL and an official licensee.

A new report by EDO — a marketing platform that measures the effectiveness of TV ads — offers metrics about 2023’s women’s sports viewership. It shares meaningful insight on ad engagement trends in sports like tennis and basketball, with data supporting the marketability case for rising stars like Coco Gauff and Caitlin Clark.

Canadian Tire (CTC) is leveraging its unparalleled brand power to become a changemaker in Canadian women’s sports sponsorship. CTC’s AVP of Community Impact & Sport Partnerships Ashley Curran recently spoke with The GIST about the company’s efforts to transform the women’s sports landscape in Canada through its Women’s Sport Initiative.

The Women’s Super League (WSL) is enjoying a 43% attendance boost YoY, with Arsenal leading the way in proving that the league deserves a bigger stage. While popularity and crowd sizes do vary among clubs, the overall numbers show upward trends across the board.

As the UK further invests in expanding its women’s soccer footprint, governmental agency UK Sport shared its ambitions to host the country’s first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) in the 2030s.

24 Hour Fitness is bulking up its existing NWSL ties. After renewing and expanding its year-long sponsorship of San Diego Wave FC last month, the gym brand signed a multiyear deal yesterday to become a founding level partner of Angel City FC.

Canadian billionaire Larry Tanenbaum is reportedly working to bring a WNBA franchise to Toronto after previous efforts stalled last year. Tanenbaum is chairman of the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) sports group — owner of Toronto’s NHL, NBA, and MLS franchises — and is hoping to add women’s basketball to his sports portfolio.

Financial services company Ally — a women’s sports sponsorship heavy-hitter — inked a multiyear deal with the two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces yesterday, marking the brand’s first foray into the league.

NWSL owners rolled out new rules last week about how private equity (PE) funds can invest in multiple teams. The policy also excludes sovereign wealth funds from ownership, meaning Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other state-owned investment funds will be unable to buy NWSL stakes as the league grows.