Serves her right
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy Wednesday!
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne confirmed that when it comes to college gymnastics, she’s not Dunne yet. The 21-year-old announced on Monday that she’s returning to the Tigers for her fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility — where she’s likely to multiply her $3.9M NIL fortune.
- The NIL trailblazer is set up for success with upcoming Amazon Prime docuseries The Money Game, for which Dunne and all other participating LSU athletes were compensated with NIL payments.
- And if you love a binge-worthy sports series, keep reading…
Women’s tennis
🎾 Serves her right
The GIST: Today, ESPN will debut In The Arena: Serena Williams, an intimate behind-the-scenes docuseries reviewing the biggest moments of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion’s career. As just the second athlete to headline the award-winning project —Tom Brady’s Man in the Arena won a 2022 Sports Emmy — Williams is (yet again) in rare company. Always on top of her game.
The series: Williams announced the doc last year, solidifying In The Arena as a (gender-inclusive) franchise expansion. Unlike Brady’s series, which was filmed during his NFL tenure, this second edition instead offers a career retrospective — complete with commentary from both Williams herself and those closest to her.
- The team, however, is virtually the same as the Brady series: It’s directed by Gotham Chopra and co-produced by ESPN, Religion of Sports, and Tom Brady’s 199 Productions, with Williams and Caroline Currier’s Nine Two Six Productions joining the fold, of course.
The rollout: Presenting sponsor Morgan Stanley worked with Disney Advertising to develop a cross-channel sponsorship that includes in-show branding on streaming and linear, voiceover promotions in ESPN studio shows, and plenty of exposure across other ESPN platforms.
- The investment bank is also taking things IRL: After the series’ June 13th debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, it plans on hosting other events centered around the new doc.
The sponsor: Morgan Stanley is a dedicated player in the sports space. The company has sponsored the PGA’s Players Championship since 2017 and LPGA golfer Cheyenne Woods has been a brand ambassador since 2018. And 10 years ago, it expanded its wealth management offerings with Global Sports & Entertainment, an entire arm catering to wealthy clients in these industries.
- Of late, the multinational bank has doubled down on its WTA sponsorship by boosting financial literacy for athletes. Plus, they added Canadian tennis phenom Leylah Annie Fernandez as a brand ambassador in 2022.
- When asked about Morgan Stanley’s focus on and increasing sponsorship of women’s tennis, CMO Alice Milligan told The GIST that the bank has “really challenged [itself] from a marketing perspective to widen the aperture of who [it’s] speaking to… And so, [it’s] really set out to change [that] game”.
Zooming out: Sports docuseries are the next big thing — just ask Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, who’s co-launching an NWSL reality series this summer. And with women’s sports being the next BFD, it’s no wonder producers and filmmakers are zooming in: Deloitte predicts that women’s elite sports will surpass $1B in global revenue this year.
- Just like Netflix’s Break Point, Full Swing, and Formula 1: Drive to Survive have spurred wider interest in each spotlighted sport, women’s sports docuseries — the coverage fans are hungry for — are prime opportunities for brands to reap the rewards of the growing women’s game by getting in on the action.
Sponsored by SpringHill Suites by Marriott
👏 Personal space, please!
Family trips help you grow closer, but that doesn’t mean you have to be literally close 24/7. SpringHill Suites by Marriott exclusively offers suite-style rooms with extra living space, so you can spend quality time with the team…while maintaining your personal bubble.
- As the Official Hotel Partner of U.S. Soccer, SpringHill Suites by Marriott knows that creating space is crucial on the pitch, and even more important in your temporary digs. Book now to live large.
💰 Seattle Storm ownership, NWSL players invest in new USL women’s team
Ballard FC, Seattle’s popular USL League Two men’s team that won the semi-pro soccer league’s title in 2023, announced that it’s launching a women’s squad yesterday, with kickoff set for May 2025.
- The team has notably recruited some local ownership power players: NWSL athletes like Seattle Reign FC’s Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock are investing, as is the WNBA’s Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder. There’s no place like home.
🏎️ Gainbridge and Parity celebrate Olympic gender parity with NASCAR activation
Group 1001 companies Gainbridge, an insurance and financial company, and its sister Parity, a women’s sports marketing and sponsorship platform, are leveraging this summer’s Olympic gender parity milestone with a “Parity In Paris” activation during this weekend’s NASCAR race.
- To celebrate the fact that over 75 Parity athletes have qualified for the Olympics and Paralympics, the NASCAR Cup Series’ No. 7 car — driven by Corey LaJoie and sponsored by Spire Motorsports — will don Parity’s brand colors and messaging while Parity athletes and guests enjoy a VIP raceway experience.
- Both of these companies have been around the racing sponsorship track: Gainbridge is a big NASCAR sponsor and, in June, Parity partnered with Women in Motorsports North America to honor six drivers at their Women With Drive: Pikes Peak event in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A wheel good time.
🤝 Paramount and Skydance merger could result in $2B in cuts
The ink is still drying on Skydance’s recently approved $8B acquisition of Paramount Global, but the new parent company is already thinking about synergies. Skydance executives have identified at least $2B in savings at Paramount, primarily in its linear media operations.
📈 WTA Ventures credits Saudi investment for business growth
WTA Ventures chief executive Marina Storti, who manages the women’s tennis organization’s new commercial strategy arm, spoke with the Financial Times (FT) about the impact of its budding Saudi Arabia relationship on the tennis tour’s business.
- Following its multiyear partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in May, Storti told FT that investments from the PIF and CVC Capital Partners — the private equity firm that helped launch WTA Ventures — have allowed the WTA to enter new markets.
- Storti says the WTA is “really sensitive” to sportswashing concerns, but added that the PIF partnership is a “really, really good partnership for the sport.”
🏊 Olympic swimmers might not be able to swim in Paris’ Seine River after unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria were consistently found in its waters over the last month. Not good.
🏀 Wilson, the official ball of the WNBA, unveiled three basketballs in its new Caitlin Clark signature collection that hit shelves yesterday. The designs include details unique to Clark, including handwritten childhood notes manifesting her WNBA dreams.
🌎 The WNBA and FIBA will host their second annual Basketball Without Borders camp at the WNBA All-Star Weekend later this month. Forty of the top high school girls’ basketball players from 25 countries have been invited to participate.
🏅 Yesterday, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and CBC/Radio-Canada launched “Greatness Moves Us,” a media campaign chronicling the journey of seven Canadian Para athletes ahead of the Paris Games.
⚾ MLB’s Baltimore Orioles hired Catie Griggs as president of business operations on Monday, making her the first woman in the role in franchise history. On July 5th, Griggs left the Seattle Mariners, where she was also their first woman president of business operations. It really is herstory.
Giveaway Alert
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What's up for grabs:
🏖️ Three days (two nights) at the eco-friendly Sonder the Deco Hotel South Beach
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Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to relax and explore. Enter today.
Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:
🏃 What to binge
Sprint. Ever wondered how the world’s fastest humans achieve their dreams? Run, don’t walk, and tune in ASAP.
🏒 Who’s making history
Jessica Campbell, who became the NHL’s first woman assistant coach when she was hired by the Seattle Kraken earlier this month. The first of many.
🏅 Who to know
2024 Paralympic hopeful Leo Merle. Not only does the middle-distance runner have big Parisian dreams this summer, he’s also earning his doctorate degree in dental surgery. Unreal.
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