WOMEN'S SPORTS HIT NEW HEIGHTS

Major gains in television viewing and attendance at women's sports in 2024 will give way to expansion in 2025 as startups and established leagues alike look to take advantage of the surging interest, industry leaders and experts have said.

North America's top-flight National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) both saw record viewing figures, while fans in the United Kingdom devoted more time than ever to watching the Women's Super League (WSL), and television ratings soared in the second season of Women's Premier League cricket.

Deep-pocketed investors took notice, and growth will be the theme for 2025 as the WNBA welcomes its first new franchise since 2008, when the Golden State Valkyries begin play next year.

The WNBA, which is also preparing for two more teams in 2026 in Portland and Toronto, had its most-watched regular season, with 1.2 million average viewers on ESPN, according to the broadcaster, while an average of 1.6 million watched the finals, the biggest audience in 25 years.

The league had enjoyed steady growth in recent years, but the surge was helped along by a compelling rookie class led by Caitlin Clark, whose record-smashing collegiate career was a watershed moment for women's sport in the United States.

Clark will hope her extraordinary star power will help in her joint bid to bring an NWSL team to Cincinnati, as the women's soccer league considers three contenders, including Denver and Cleveland, for a fresh expansion franchise.

The league saw average viewership of 967,900 for this year's championship, up 18 percent from 2023, the NWSL said, and it is preparing to expand to 15 members when a Boston team joins in 2026.

The value of NWSL and WNBA teams is expected to grow by at least $1.6 billion over the next three years, according to research released late last month by The Collective, the women's division of sports and entertainment agency Wasserman.

"WNBA and NWSL teams are leading the charge, but this growth is not limited to these leagues — it's about the growth of the entire women's sports ecosystem."

A recent PwC survey of more than 400 industry leaders showed that 85 percent expected double-digit growth for women's sports revenues in the next three to five years, with soccer, basketball and rugby in particular getting a boost from major events.

The climate has been appealing for new outfits too, as Premier Lacrosse League last month announced a women's league that will debut next year, and the six-team Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) plans to kick off in 2026.

The WPBL was approached by dozens of potential owners after it announced its launch in October, according to Keith Stein, co-founder of the league with pioneer Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach a professional men's baseball team.

"Over 40 percent of Major League Baseball fans are women, and women's professional sports — even women's collegiate sports — have never been more recognized by the public than today," Siegal said.

"It's a perfect time to take a game that women have been loving for centuries, and give them a chance not just to play, but also be in leadership positions."

Reuters