The issue of frictions, visibility and media rights in the emerging women’s sport market.

The Landscape

One of the most dynamic and compelling trends of the Sports 3.0 era is the evolution of actions and perceptions around the distribution of women’s sports.

With the fusion of tech and entertainment in sports, and the inclusion of a wider consumer base in emerging properties and markets, the face of women’s sports has changed dramatically.

Most notably, the broadcasting of women's sports is undergoing a transformative shift, marked by both significant advancements and persistent challenges. While certain leagues have secured substantial media rights deals, a notable disparity remains when compared to men's sports. There is a growing appetite for women’s sports - and demand must be met with sensible and accessible distribution opportunities.

Women’s sports are no longer merely an emerging movement - they are a fundamental pillar of the sports-entertainment ecosystem. While fan demand and sponsorship value have surged at sustained rates; content distribution remains the Achilles' heel for many emerging, niche leagues. The challenge is therefore to bridge the gap between fan demand/growth potential and content distribution.

The aim for innovators in the space must be to remove barriers, obstacles and friction* for fans and rights holders of emerging women's sports.

*(‘Nurturing Lifelong Fandom’)

We’re starting to see a few women’s sports thrive in ‘traditional’ media settings and circumstances.

WNBA
NWSL
Unrivaled Basketball
League One Volleyball
Women’s Indian Premier League (Cricket)

Traditional, Tier One distributors will only meaningfully distribute:

Women’s sports with large fanbases, clearly aggregated in a high-demand territory - WNBA (USA) / WIPL (India).
Emerging leagues with extreme momentum, and innovative formatting and an overall exceptional offering - Unrivaled, League One Volleyball.

They won’t pick up:

High-risk, unproven leagues with unsubstantiated, or undersized fan bases.

Resulting in:

Friction for Rights Holders - Emerging leagues not receiving enough coverage and therefore (financial and strategic) investment. Causing a lack of attention and viewership, a negative feedback loop.
Friction for Fans - Bundling with popular men’s alternatives, while being overshadowed by thousands of more proven entertainment offerings.

Landscape Table

Traditional Platforms and Distributors - Successes

WNBA: The 2024 $2.2 billion media deal represents an inflection point, emphasizing the league’s growing value. Strategic bundling with NBA rights enabled high visibility while preserving league autonomy.

NWSL: The 2023 $240 million deal highlighted the growing value of women’s soccer in the US, driven by increasing viewership and grassroots interest.

Unrivaled Basketball: Leveraging star power and an innovative format, Unrivaled’s TNT partnership exemplifies how emerging leagues can secure major distribution.

League One Volleyball: Only niche women’s sport property comparable to Unrivaled, secured multi-year media rights deal with ESPN.

*both Unrivaled and League One are yet to launch - high performance on traditional platforms is critical to continued success.

Traditional Platforms and Distributors - Failures

Canadian Women’s Hockey League Closure: Insufficient financial backing and lack of dedicated media rights deals forced the league to shut down in 2019, underscoring the risks of traditional reliance.

Women’s Champions League: Attempts to monetize through paywalls failed to achieve commercial sustainability, despite strong YouTube viewership (50 million views in 2022-23). DAZN, partners and investors did not feel the league was at commercial-maturity stage. New cycle with Two Circles pending.

Finding a Solution, Removing Friction

Traditional platforms have historically bundled men’s sports with women’s sports. Exceptional breakaway examples should be perceived as the aspirational goal for emerging women’s leagues, rather than the benchmark.

Therefore, rights holders, investors and media innovators must find ways to decrease friction, illuminate talent and grow visibility for emerging women’s sports. These sports formats often have excellent fundamentals and familiarity, high scalability and (potential) substantiated demand - so why are they not being pushed out to entertainment audiences, and dedicated sports fans meaningfully?

Unproven emerging sports, lacking popular (Unrivaled) or Olympic/international (League One Volleyball) momentum, are risky investments - and the major franchises and distributors are not taking up the opportunity.

Fanbases of emerging leagues will be inherently smaller, but their dedication, and the potential to reach a wider 3.0 marketplace is harder to justify through data.

Conditions for success, outside of traditional platforms

The emerging league must have a defined, base fan demand.
It must have the fundamental capabilities to appeal to a digitally-native entertainment consumer.
It must have a distinctive departure, most beneficially through some kind of immersive-experiential quality, from the respective men’s equivalent, to retain engagement.
The emerging league, most importantly, needs an alternative home, where women’s sports are promoted, rather than simply celebrated.
That home must be readily accessed, ideally without the pressure on 3.0 fans of expensive fees and content over-saturation.

FAST Channels - a viable solution

Free Ad-supported Streaming TV Channels

In the News

Free Live Sports has launched, with 100 live FAST sports channels.
- Cornering mainstream sports (tennis), emerging sports (PFL) and niche sports (fishing) with strong fanbases.
- Immersive TV experiences - live podcasts and on-demand documentaries and series.
Sky Sports is moving towards adding FAST channels for English Football.
The 13th Amagi Global FAST Report details a 65% increase in live sports content on FAST Channels.
- The US and Canada saw triple-digit growth in sports-channel viewership and impressions, contributing to 60% of global viewership.
- Sports channel viewership grew by about 4.5 times in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 60% of this growth driven by the addition of new channels.

Core Advantage: Accessibility

FAST, at the moment, offers the optimal route for fan acquisition and engagement. By removing paywalls, FAST channels lower the barrier to entry for fans, allowing more viewers to explore women’s sports without financial commitment. This is particularly advantageous for younger and cost-conscious audiences who may not prioritize traditional cable subscriptions or premium streaming services.

Best summarized by Pluto TV’s (a major FAST Service) slogan:

STREAM NOW, PAY NEVER.

Focus on Emerging Leagues

Emerging, Not Emerged: The emphasis should be on promoting emerging women’s sports as a collective movement, rather than on leagues that have already achieved a high level of maturity.
Avoiding Comparison: By showcasing emerging leagues independently rather than adjacent to men’s sports or alongside more established entertainment options, FAST channels create a dedicated space where these sports can be celebrated for their unique value.

Olympic Model of Collective Promotion

Like the Olympics, where niche sports are celebrated both individually and as part of a larger narrative, FAST channels can bring recognition to diverse talent. Grouping lesser-known women’s sports together under a cohesive, purpose-driven platform increases visibility and allows fans to explore new areas of interest, fostering organic growth.

Consumer Appeal

Cost-Free Model: Offering content without subscription fees entices fans eager for new entertainment, particularly casual viewers who may not initially be loyal followers of women’s sports. This approach helps activate dormant or untapped audiences.
Fan Ecosystem: Emerging leagues often lack star talent, exposure, and an activated, high-spend fan base. FAST channels create an ecosystem where these leagues can attract consumers who might otherwise bypass niche sports.

Scalability and Cost Efficiency

FAST channels are inherently cost-effective compared to traditional broadcast platforms. For women's sports leagues with constrained budgets, partnerships with FAST providers eliminate the need for expensive production costs and allow a direct-to-consumer approach.

Metrics Supporting FAST Channels

Viewership Growth: Recent studies show a 150% increase in viewership for sports-themed FAST channels in the last year alone.
Advertising Revenue: FAST advertising revenue is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% through 2026, reaching $18 billion globally.
- FAST channels leverage advanced analytics to provide advertisers with detailed audience data. Advertisers can create hyper-targeted campaigns, aligning their brands with socially conscious consumers who actively engage with women's sports.
Content Flexibility: FAST platforms provide dynamic scheduling options, allowing leagues to respond quickly to fan preferences and trends without long-term commitments.

The women’s sports landscape needs change - and FAST is a viable solution. Innovators in the field must find ways to protect, promote and grow emerging women’s sports which lack meaningful visibility on traditional platforms.

When will the women’s sport distribution potential be realised? And what will be the next solution to solve the problem of delivering emerging women’s sport content in the digital, 3.0 era?

NEWS