PWHL inks two key partnerships ahead of its new season

The GIST: Winter is upon us, and so is the second season of the PWHL. After scoring serious business wins in year one, the pro women’s hockey league is gearing up for expansion, from adding two new teams by next year to signing multiple partnerships before Saturday’s puck dropped — including one in October with yours truly. Betting on women.

💰 PWHL signs FanDuel for extensive betting and streaming partnership. On Friday, FanDuel became the PWHL’s official sportsbook partner and its exclusive in-app U.S. streaming partner, meaning it will show up to 90 regular-season and playoff games.

• North of the border, FanDuel Canada is also in on the action as a sportsbook partner, but not as a streamer as the PWHL already has significant media partnerships in the country, including a recent deal with Prime Video.

🇨🇦 Canadian insurance firm Intact inks with the PWHL. Last Wednesday, Intact was announced as the league’s official home and auto insurance partner in Canada, with the firm sponsoring all three Canadian PWHL teams and funding opportunities for girls to join the game. If she can see her…

📺 There’s plenty of room to grow, especially for media partners. The PWHL signed over 40 sponsors last season, which saw historic viewership and attendance that could be surpassed with venue upgrades. The two cities lucky enough to land new PWHL teams will also create more local deal opportunities — and if any are in the U.S., a major American broadcast partner could step in.

• Women’s Sports Network is the PWHL’s lone national U.S. media partner, but if NHL media deals with ESPN and Turner can deliver on hockey’s surging hype, these networks could do the same in the PWHL. Now’s the time.