Brian Wallace, Founder & President, NowSourcing

The popularity of women’s sports continues to grow, making major strides in 2020.  Interest in women’s soccer was spurred by the 2019 World Cup win and can be shown in the viewership for the following year.  In 2020, the National Women’s Soccer League broke viewership records by nearly 300%, reaching 653,000 views.  In addition, the NWSL challenge cup drew viewership on par with a Major League Baseball game airing in the same time slot. 

What has changed in the past few years?  In regards to women’s soccer, the first and last games were aired on CBS rather than the subscription service, and the month-long tournament schedule started before the men’s league and before the NBA returned from lockdown.  Esmeralda Negro, the co-founder of Atlanta Media, argues, “Premium broadcasting plays a massive role in elevating the visibility and profile of leagues and players at the club level… Viewership drives everything in this sport.”  Women’s soccer viewership went up because it was more heavily broadcasted and accessible.

The common narrative is that women don’t watch sports, yet the opposite is true; viewers want women’s sports.  Sports fans are 49% women and 51% men.  Of that group, 84% are interested in watching women’s sports.  Not only do women watch sports, but they are active members that can increase viewership and revenue.  In 2020, young women increased MLB viewership by over 80%.  After looking into viewership patterns, the Olympic Channel found that 56% of engagement comes from women, and viewership of women’s content is 16% higher than the viewership of men’s. 

Even with these discoveries, only half of the governing sports bodies have a boardroom of at least 25% women.  There is a clear unequal investment in women’s sports.  Additionally, huge pay gaps exist.  On average, female athletes are earning 63% of their male counterparts.  In 2020, only one female athlete, Naomi Osaka, was on Forbes’ highest-paid athlete's list.  While fewer people are interested in women’s sports than some men's sports, there is still a huge fan base and potential for sponsorships. 

Media coverage is key.  Women’s sports receive less coverage in both print and broadcasting, despite large fluctuations in major events.  Lack of media coverage impacts sponsorships, losing a potential source of revenue.  Just 0.4% of sponsorship dollars go to women’s sports, even with a 37% increase in annual sponsorship deals from 2013-2017.  3 in 4 people interested in women’s sports can name at least one brand involved, and 20% of people are more influenced by sponsorships of women’s sports than men’s.  It's about time for women to be compensated fairly and close the pay gap with their male counterparts.

About the Author: Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500s. Brian runs #LinkedInLocal events, hosts the Next Action Podcast, and has been named a Google Small Business Adviser for 2016-present. Follow Brian Wallace on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.