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The GIST: Talk about a successful weekend getaway. The WNBA scored a handful of business wins at Saturday’s preseason game in Toronto, potentially offering insight on the league’s domestic and international expansion plans.

The details: A sold-out Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19.8K matched the fervor from Canadian brands. The league booked 15 marketing partners and outperformed all revenue targets for the game, while interest in the WNBA soared among NBA Canada’s partners as a result of the event. Several partners, like Tangerine, pitched in on advertising, merch, and community activations.

The expansion: Toronto’s preseason game was billed as an audition for an expansion team backed by MLSE and New Media Group. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed the city is “on the list”, and MLSE–owned Scotiabank Arena already has league approval, with Saturday’s game bolstering the 6ix’s strong case.

• Toronto boasts around 6M WNBA fans nationally, and average regular season Canadian viewership has jumped over 95% during the last three years. Plus, the country’s women’s pro sports market is currently worth $110M to $148M. Not bad, eh?

The globalization: This Canada trip also demonstrates the WNBA’s growing global strategy. The league is forging relationships with the NBA’s seven international offices, including NBA Canada, and Saturday’s game may have built the roadmap for a WNBA version of the NBA’s annual Canada Series.

Zooming out: The success of this weekend’s game proves Toronto’s viability as a WNBA market, but now the league must decide if the city is best suited for a franchise or just exhibition games. It may be a tough decision, but either option opens up new revenue streams that could be replicated in other cities. Decisions, decisions.

The GIST: Gen Z might like (some) sports after all. Despite the generation’s notable apathy towards the industry, a recent survey from data insights company Kantar revealed men’s and women’s basketball are more popular with Gen Z than with American sports fans overall.

The numbers: While 21% of American sports fans across all age groups say they’re avid fans of the WNBA, 27% of Gen Zers enjoy the league. The figures are similar for NCAA women’s hoops — 21% of all fans watch women’s college basketball, while 26% of Gen Z fans keep up with it.

• The gulf is large in the men’s game, too. Forty-three percent of all sports fans follow the NBA compared to 58% of Gen Z fans, and 35% of general sports fans enjoy NCAA men’s hoops compared to 41% of Gen Zers.

The trends: Younger fans also outperform the national average when it comes to other women’s sports–related variables — 62% of Gen Z fans would watch more women’s games if they were easier to find compared to 55% of all sports fans. A whopping 65% of all fans, though, want sports culture to be more inclusive towards women. Same.

• Sports fans across different age and gender demographics still typically prefer watching men’s sports over women’s sports, but the limited accessibility to women’s sports likely impacts this imbalance.

Zooming out: Kantar argues that basketball could dethrone football as America’s sport of choice if Gen Zers have their say, which would dramatically alter the sports business landscape as we know it. The survey also confirms a major truth about Gen Z consumers — inclusivity is key to earning their attention and dollars.

• Whether or not basketball actually does surpass football, the industry may be due for a seismic shift. The WNBA and NBA are both known for demanding equality, which could influence other leagues’ strategy in their quests to attract Gen Z. Ball’s in their court.

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Meta expanded its WNBA partnership on Thursday, making Meta Quest the official virtual reality (VR) headset of the league. Meta Quest will stream 20 live games a season, and WNBA–licensed virtual gear will soon appear at the Meta Avatars Store. The WNBA’s renewal resembles Meta’s January deal with the NBA and NBA 2K League.

• This new broadcast deal could help the WNBA access a new audience — engagement with VR skews younger and male, and 4.39M VR headsets are expected to be sold in the U.S. this year.

New Zealand is expected to rake in more than $124M from July’s FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC). The projection increased after the USWNT was selected to play all group stage games in the country — FIFA anticipates that 20K of the 29K heading to New Zealand will come from the States. Far out.

Last week, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan asked corporate partners to help launch a fund to assist players with expenses, such as health insurance. CFO Kathy Milthorpe also said the tour needs sponsors’ backing for salaries and global telecasts to increase visibility because “tech is not cheap.”

• The LPGA hopes new funds will continue its recent upward trajectory. It inked nearly 1K partners last year, increased 2023 prize money to $101.4M total, and upped revenue more than 50%.

🏆 Unilever will sponsor the WWC as part of a four-year deal with FIFA that includes support for the governing body’s women’s development program.

🎓 McDonald’s inked name, image, and likeness deals with more than 45 college athletes from HBCUs like Fisk University and across the ACC.

🏟️ London’s Wembley Stadium hosted 77K for yesterday’s Women’s FA Cup final, breaking the world record for attendance at a domestic women’s club match.

📲 Former NBC head of advertising Linda Yaccarino is the new Twitter CEO.

⚽ A recent study revealed 51% of soccer fans in the U.S. are women. Golazo.

🎧 Sports podcasts scored 15% of all ad revenue last year, unseating news podcasts as the top earner.

💰 Fanatics is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire the U.S. operations of sportsbook PointsBet, and a deal could be reached this week.