New data from the Sports Innovation Lab (SIL) has found that 83 per cent of brands plan to increase their media investment in women’s sports next year.

Confirmed:

• SIL’s third annual ‘The Fan Project’ report found that 68 per cent of brands said they planned to spend between one to ten per cent more on women’s sports
• Report found brands currently spend an average of nine per cent of their sports media budget in women’s sports
• Fans of women’s sports were 20 per cent more likely than fans of men’s sports to spend on sports streaming platforms, according to the SIL data

• Report concludes that the lack of investment in women’s sports itself results in a perceived lack of interest and an incorrect estimation of media values, which, in turn, turns brands off from committing more funding

Context:

The report polled members of the Women’s Sports Club, a collective of individuals working for sports properties, major brands and media companies. The group is backed by SIL, alongside Ally Financial, which has vowed to equalise its media spend across women’s and men’s sports by 2027.

Comment:

“Since launching our first women’s sports report in 2021, The Fan Project, we’ve been using data to tell the industry why investing in women’s sports was a smart business decision,” said Angela Ruggiero, co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab.

“This report is the how. It’s providing a blueprint to both maximize the ROI of a brand’s marketing investment in women’s sports, while at the same time breaking down barriers inhibiting the industry’s growth.”

Coming next:

The report identified that improving the reach, in-person event experience and discoverability of women’s sports will go a long way to elevating women’s sports.