A movement, not a moment
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
It’s Friyay!
While sponsors like Nike and broadcasters like NBC keep expanding their Olympic and Paralympic footprint, the marketing spend isn’t trickling down for most Paris-bound athletes. “Sport is becoming increasingly more haves and have-nots, and access is waning,” U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said this week. Something’s gotta give.
Women’s sports
🧢 Merch party
The GIST: The gender gap in sports viewership and valuations may be closing, but there’s one area of the women’s sports ecosystem where supply is far behind demand: merchandise. On Wednesday, payment network Klarna and fan intelligence company Sports Innovation Lab (SIL) estimated the value of the women’s sports merch market at $4B. We’re going shopping.
The methodology: The report surveyed 1K sports fans across seven countries and analyzed purchasing habits of more than 50M U.S. consumers using Klarna data to identify key trends in women’s sports merch purchases.
Key findings: Purchases are often curbed because women’s sports fans can’t find what they’re looking for. More than 60% of those who intended to buy merch couldn’t because it was “out of stock,” 79% reported they would buy more women’s sports merch if there were more options, and 28% admitted they couldn’t find a style they liked.
- To further put things into perspective, there’s an overall 9:1 ratio between men’s and women’s sports merch offerings. The NBA has 9x more merch options than the WNBA, while the MLS has 6x more than the NWSL.
The market: The data proves the demand exists, and the merch world is only just moving to meet it. In March, Amazon signed an expansive deal to sell NWSL merchandise through its Amazon Fan Shop, while Dick’s Sporting Goods has made girls’ WNBA and Caitlin Clark apparel ubiquitous.
- Women’s sports media platform Togethxr has been in the women’s sports merch game from the jump, and it’s already paid off with viral celeb-backed marketing campaigns. In conjunction with this report, Klarna and SIL teamed up with the brand and soccer legend Ali Krieger to launch limited-edition merch.
- Krieger told The GIST last week that she experienced issues finding merch firsthand during the 2016 Rio Olympics when she tried to order the Olympic jersey of WNBA legend (and dear friend) Sue Bird. While Krieger did eventually get her threads, it was only with a little help from Bird herself. Friends in high places, huh?
The takeaway: Klarna, SIL, Togethxr, and Krieger are all using their unique superpowers to help bring attention to the merch gap. Klarna leveraged its consumer payment data, SIL built on its fan research background, and Togethxr used its merch experience to drive the convo forward, while Krieger lent her voice as a thriving broadcaster to get the message out.
Women’s basketball
🏀 A nice, juicy stake
The GIST: We have a winner, folks. A month after governing body Basketball Australia (BA) announced it was selling a majority stake in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) and the Wollemi Capital Group Syndicate (WCGS) formed a consortium to buy in. Crikey.
The details: Yesterday, the Australian Financial Review reported that climate specialist investment firm WCGS will acquire a 49% stake while the NBL will acquire 29%, adding up to a total 78% share of the league between the two.
The backstory: BA chief executive Matt Scriven confirmed last month that it was open to a potential investor acquiring a majority stake in the WNBL, which has a reported total value somewhere between $20M and $23.3M.
- WNBL Adelaide Lightning franchise owner Ross Pelligra was one of several rumored contenders, as well as Bay FC co-founders Sixth Street Partners and Bluestone Equity Partners. But NBL billionaire owner Larry Kestelman had an edge: He already went through the process of separating from BA in 2015 and oversaw historic NBL attendance last season.
The precedent: Kestelman’s NBL experience positions the WNBL to be run by an experienced sports league owner while benefiting from WCGS’ financial backing — similar to the division of ownership between the private equity firm Carlyle Group and the MLS’ Seattle Sounders when they purchased the Seattle Reign together in March.
- From the WNBL’s POV, there are many prominent examples of leagues who have been built up with investment from their male counterparts, for better or worse. The UK’s NewCo had to fight for Premier League investment when separating from its governing body, and the WNBA is still entangled in a complicated relationship with the NBA. Guess we got a situationship.
Sponsored by SpringHill Suites by Marriott
👏 No compromises here
Things you have in common with U.S. Soccer players: You work hard and you don’t compromise. That’s why, just like U.S. Soccer, you should go with SpringHill Suites by Marriott the next time you’re choosing a hotel.
- SpringHill Suites offers exclusively suite-style spaces with crucial conveniences like mini fridges and gyms, plus homey touches like comfy furniture and a communal fire pit.
And Marriott Bonvoy members can take advantage of a special Marriott Bonvoy Moments package* for the USWNT vs Mexico game on July 13th in New Jersey. This match also features a reunion of the iconic 1999 USWNT, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their historic championship that transformed women's soccer worldwide.
*Terms and conditions apply.💼 Unrivaled appoints veteran sports executive Micky Lawler as league commissioner
Unrivaled — the upcoming 3x3 women’s basketball league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier — made another boss move after touting the highest salary in women’s sports history. The league appointed former WTA president Micky Lawler as commish on Thursday, noting Lawler’s experience building the WTA, including with popular Netflix documentary Break Point.
🚀 NBC primed for Olympic viewership explosion
NBC is set up for historic Olympic viewership, largely due to its expanded and reimagined primetime coverage. It will also offer the most extensive daytime coverage for a European Olympic Games and will present an estimated 7K total hours across its networks.
- While NBC is paying $7.75B for the competition’s rights through the 2032 Games, the company has said it expects to clear at least $1.25B in ad revenue for Paris 2024.
Manchester United displaces women’s team to accommodate men
Manchester United is undergoing a $63.2M redevelopment of its men’s practice facility, so it’s building portable buildings to accommodate players as they train. But these temporary facilities aren’t for the men…they’re for Man U’s women’s side.
- That’s right: The men’s team is going to be using the women’s training ground, which underwent its own $12.6M remodel last year, while the women’s team will have to practice out of the portable buildings. For shame.
🏈 New Balance unveiled its first-ever football cleats on Wednesday. The best part? They’re unisex. Sports are for everyone.
🎓 The Big East Conference signed a six-year media rights deal with FOX, NBC, and TNT, with the latter two networks airing Big East games for the first time.
🤸 Gymnastics icon Simone Biles signed a two-year endorsement deal with premium haircare brand K18, adding to a sponsorship portfolio that includes Visa, American Airlines, and Uber Eats.
🤖 UEFA inked a deal with sports data tech company Genius Sports to provide player tracking data for club matches.
🤝 Special Olympics and Coca‑Cola announced an eight-year extension of their global deal on Thursday, marking the longest-ever renewal in the partnership’s 56-year history. Drinking it all in.
🏅 Skims released a limited-edition capsule collection in partnership with Team USA that features gymnast Sunisa Lee and several other Team USA athletes.
📈 Amazon hit $2T in market cap, joining an exclusive tech giant club that includes Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and Alphabet.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
⚾ Who to remember
Willie Mays. The legendary San Francisco Giant — arguably the greatest player in MLB history — passed away at 93 years old last week. The “Say Hey Kid” inspired so many and his impact is immeasurable.
🎨 Who to know
Antoinette Cauley, the artist creating a mural as part of the Phoenix Mercury’s court refurbishment for next month’s WNBA All-Star Weekend. Who says the hardwood’s just for dribbling?
🏅 What to relive
Team USA gymnast Sunisa Lee’s historic Tokyo 2020 win, where she became the first Asian-American gold medalist in the women’s all-around. Chills forever.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Lisa Minutillo. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster and Alessandra Puccio. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop.