The GIST

Unrivaled signs landmark deal with OneTeam for WNBPA player licensing rights

Yesterday, OneTeam Partners — an agency that represents several pro athlete unions — announced a transformative partnership with 3v3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled and the WNBPA. Through the agreement, Unrivaled now owns group licensing rights for WNBPA athletes, meaning that the league (and its players) can finally capitalize on NIL–driven products and branding.

February 28, 2025

Kevin Hart’s entertainment company partners with Indiana Pacers and Fever in WNBA–driven collaboration

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Hartbeat — the new multichannel entertainment company founded by comedian Kevin Hart — is diving deep into the basketball world with a WNBA–driven partnership. Yesterday, Hartbeat announced its partnership with Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) to serve as its official “cultural curator” to merge sport, entertainment, and culture in Indiana and beyond.

February 28, 2025

Lagging NBA ratings could benefit from winning women’s basketball strategies

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It’s no secret that the NBA has been losing viewership in recent years, something the league has often sought to address with creative and successful solutions inspired by women’s basketball. These learnings could lead to increased collaboration between men’s and women’s hoops, including a shift in how the men’s game interacts with the women’s.

February 21, 2025

Unrivaled capitalizes on underutilized 1v1 format through in-season tournament

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Unrivaled is leaning into its name with its inaugural 1v1 tournament, an uncommon format in pro basketball leagues like the WNBA and NBA. Although the idea of an in-season tournament and a casual 1v1 knockout tourney isn’t new, capitalizing on both concepts in a professional league is.

February 10, 2025

Relo Metrics shares sponsorship value insights for top pro U.S. sports leagues, including the WNBA

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Yesterday, sports data platform Relo Metrics released a report on 2024 sponsorship across six major American sports leagues, including the WNBA. The leagues generated over $11B in sponsor media value (SMV) amid a 15% jump YoY in sports sponsorship, meaning this space is more profitable than ever — especially in rising leagues like the WNBA.

February 07, 2025

Opill and the WNBA expand college presence to reach key demographics

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Birth control company Opill leveled up its WNBA partnership yesterday by increasing its collegiate campus presence. The two brands teamed up with the Black Women’s Health Imperative for IRL activations designed to inform Black women about their reproductive health and improve health equity while reaching another crucial demographic: college students.

February 05, 2025

Investors with Tennessee ties launch bid to bring WNBA team to Nashville

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Another group has entered the WNBA expansion chat. Yesterday, the NHL’s Nashville Predators’ chairman and former Tennessee state governor Bill Haslam and wife Crissy announced a bid to bring the W’s 16th team to Nashville, Tennessee.

January 31, 2025

Sports Business

Nielsen data provides insight on Black Americans’ engagement with sports

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January 31, 2025

A new Nielsen report illustrates how Black Americans are “power TV viewers” who consume video content at a higher rate than the general population and are loyal women’s sports fans. In fact, they have been a critical demographic in driving the growth of women’s basketball over time and have favored committed advertisers in the space.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #438

Zooming out on Diana Taurasi’s retirement, plus an NCAA women’s hoops preview

February 27, 2025

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Zooming out on Diana Taurasi’s retirement, plus an NCAA women’s hoops preview

Here’s to a legend!

Diana Taurasi, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, announced her retirement on Tuesday, so today’s episode of The GIST of It is a toast to the queen of confidence. As co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz discuss, Taurasi’s skill, starpower, and most of all, swagger, re-defined women’s hoops — the game is in a bigger, better, and brighter place because of her. Bowing to the best.

Then in part two, the gals stay on the hardwood, previewing this weekend’s must-watch NCAA women’s hoops action as the regular season comes to a close. March is so close, we can taste it.