Sports Business

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The GIST: Omg, it’s happening. News broke yesterday that the Mark Walter Group (co-owner of the Dodgers) and Billie Jean King Enterprises — already a formal partner of the PWHPA — have acquired the PHF. The long-awaited move officially clears the way for the two women’s hockey organizations to form a joint North American league.

The background: The icy rift between both sides dates back to 2019. After the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) folded, North America’s best players opted not to join the then–NWHL, now PHF, citing a desire to play in a sustainable cross-border league with fair wages.

• Those players went on to create the PWHPA to do just that, mostly playing in showcase tournaments across the continent and signing big sponsors like Secret, Gatorade, and Scotiabank to support its mission.

• Over the last 12 months, rumors flew that the PWHPA would create its own league, and there were attempts at a “truce” with the PHF, but nothing came to fruition…until yesterday.

What’s next: PWHPA players will be voting to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the coming days that will set up the foundational pay structure for the new league.

• Notably, due to the acquisition, it’s reported that PHF athletes will need to renegotiate their contracts, some of which are worth more than $150K and span over two seasons. With the future league and roster size still TBD, not all current PHF players will find a place on future rosters due to the insurgence of strong PWHPA talent.

Zooming out: This move ends a decades-long division in North American pro women’s hockey. WTA founder Billie Jean King knows a thing or two about creating prosperous women’s sports properties, and the creation of a joint league should lead to the best on-ice product, increased fandom, and long-term commercial success. Talk about reaching for the top shelf.

The GIST: Fox is making big marketing moves for the WWC. With the USWNT roster set and the tourney kicking off in 20 days, U.S. English-language rightsholder Fox unveiled its massive WWC marketing campaign this week, and the strategy takes a notably different approach than what the broadcaster implemented for last November’s men’s FIFA World Cup.

The marketing: Aside from the usual billboards and digital and print marketing, Fox introduced a 20-foot statue of USWNT captain Alex Morgan as the Statue of Liberty. Just like Taylor Swift the 2022 men’s World Cup (WC) snow globes, Lady Alex will take an iconic tour of the country that begins in LA and includes an MLB All-Star Week appearance and a stint in NYC.

• A print and digital campaign will feature other members of the star-studded team, like Crystal Dunn and Rose Lavelle, while Fox's recently-released USA vs. The World commercial is already causing a global stir.

The partners: Fox isn’t the only brand joining the WWC hype — the broadcaster and U.S. Soccer partnered with Crayola to draw excitement from younger fans. Crayola-designed soccer balls will be available exclusively on Amazon, while Fox execs and Crayola influencers will share their ball and kit designs on social media.

• Plus, Frito-Lay will team up with Fox to give away branded party packs for hosting WWC viewing parties, while also organizing larger fan events in stadiums across the country. Move over Super Bowl parties.

Zooming out: Fox owned the rights to last year’s men’s WC, but chose to focus its marketing on global soccer superstars (and Jon Hamm), while its WWC marketing’s focal point is the women of Team USA, proving that the athletes themselves are enough to market the tourney in the U.S. No Hollywood shine needed.

• Fox’s co-branding efforts also show crucial interest in the tournament from well-established, household brands that are ready to invest in women’s sports. Love to see it.

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The sports merchandising company acquired PointsBet U.S. on Tuesday, beating out DraftKings to officially enter the sports betting space. With the move, Fanatics continues its identity evolution after it purchased Topps in 2022 and was announced as the NHL’s jersey partner earlier this year.

• Combining its established e-commerce network with PointsBet’s experience and broader licensing reach in the sports betting realm should help Fanatics finally compete with gambling giants like DraftKings and FanDuel.

PepsiCo is extending for another three years with UEFA, adding European football to their football repertoire. The new deal includes a more innovative social presence (hello, TikTok Live) and an expansion to include other PepsiCo brands like Lay’s and Gatorade — sponsors of UEFA women’s football since 2020.

Youth sports app GameChanger will share its network of 750K teams and 13M young players with MLB in an effort to grow the youth game. The collab was announced Wednesday, and will also include free GameChanger subscriptions for baseball and softball teams in underserved communities as part of MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. A home run.

A 2021 feasibility study from the NHL and NHLPA has resulted in the first HBCU hockey program. On Wednesday, the NHL, the Nashville Predators, and College Hockey Inc. announced a collaboration to establish a men’s hockey team at Tennessee State University (TSU).

• And this is just the beginning for TSU — it already has plans to add a women’s squad in the future and hopes to gain NCAA D1 status for the men within a few years.

🏆 The WWC opener officially sold out after being rescheduled to a 80K-seat venue due to high demand.

🏊‍♂️ USA Swimming announced a partnership with financial services company OneAmerica this week, securing their first sponsor in the finance sector.

⚽️ The Bay Area’s “Big Three” are all competing to be upcoming NWSL club Bay FC’s permanent home. We love to see cities fighting over getting a women’s team.

🏀 Wilson added the Chicago Sky’s Kahleah Copper and LA Spark Azura Stevens to its WNBA roster on Wednesday.

🏐 The NCAA announced that December’s women’s volleyball national championship will air on ABC, with the semis available on ESPN. Aces.

⚽️ The NWSL hired three senior front office execs — Andria Johnson as senior director of people and inclusion, legal VP Bobbi-Sue Doyle-Hazard, and Jordan Dolbin as head of social and influencer marketing.