Sports Business

From The Gist Team

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The countdown to the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) is officially underway, and so is a resolution to CanWNT’s labor dispute with Canada Soccer. National team captain Christine Sinclair said the team wants it settled by the time they fly to Australia on June 28th.

  • We’re kicking off our countdown to the WWC with tomorrow’s Sports Biz Breakfast, but in the meantime, join us to catch up on the busy business of women’s sports!

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The Latest

Disney

💰 Isn’t it neat?

Source: Chesnot/Getty Images

The GIST: Disney wants advertisers to be part of the women’s sports world. This week, the media conglomerate unveiled Level Up, a new advertising framework that encourages brands to spend on women’s sports content across ESPN’s platforms. Disney is currently pitching the project to advertisers and may already have some takers.

The details: Brands will have the option to advertise on ESPN verticals of their choice, including espnW and the espnW Summit, along with some upcoming offerings. Disney VP of sports brand solutions Deidra Maddock teased a “partner pod” in which certain brands’ commercials appear together, as well as a sponsored graphic on SportsCenter.

  • Disney wants participating brands to commit to spending at least $5M each, but said that figure could vary from deal to deal. Interested advertisers include Ally Financial, several CPG brands, a “major retailer,” and agency holding companies. Popular.

The context: The new framework comes just a month after Disney touted its women’s sports slate at its annual upfronts, and isn’t the company’s first innovative initiative this year. Disney partnered with Ally in February for a multiyear, multimillion dollar deal that will see 90% of the bank’s ad spend go towards women’s sports.

Zooming out: Advertisers are continuing to support women’s sports despite less-than-ideal spending trends, so Disney’s initiative feels like a savvy play to drive up their own advertising revenue. The move also signals the company’s commitment to women’s sports, and may incentivize ESPN to maintain its offerings. Wouldn’t you think their collection’s complete?

LPGA

⛳ Swinging for the fences

Source: Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images

The GIST: Two longstanding LPGA partners are hitting holes-in-one. Callaway and KPMG are increasing their presence and financial obligations at this weekend’s PGA Women’s Championship, showcasing their intent to improve the women’s golf experience for fans and players alike.

Callaway: The final hour of Sunday’s championship will air ad-free on NBC and Peacock thanks to Callaway, who will serve as the presenting sponsor of that block. It boosts NBC’s commitment to the event — the broadcaster will show a record 26 hours of coverage, almost doubling the airtime it offered last year.

  • Callaway’s ad-free deal represents a first for women’s golf, but an emerging trend in the sport. The equipment company did the same for the PGA’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, as did Rolex for last weekend’s U.S. Open.

KPMG: Yesterday, the tournament’s title sponsor increased the prize purse by another $1M, meaning golfers will compete for $10M at this weekend’s major. This is the sixth year in a row KPMG has added more money to the kitty, which has increased 185% (!!!) since 2017’s pot of $3.5M. Show them the money.

Zooming out: Both Callaway and KPMG are taking their sponsorships to the next level and investing in key elements of the LPGA’s business. Callaway’s ad spend on the broadcast improves the viewing experience for women’s golf’s growing audience, while KPMG’s funds benefit the golfers themselves.

  • Callaway’s support also reflects consumer behavior. Viewers are becoming used to commercial-free streamers, and an NBC broadcast with limited disruptions should keep the LPGA’s burgeoning audience hooked. That’s major.
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Quick Hits

🇶🇦 Qatar buys into American sports

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), will reportedly become the first sovereign wealth fund to invest in a major U.S. sports team. The QIA is buying a 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

  • The deal supposedly values Monumental at $4.05B, but doesn’t come with a board seat or voting power for the QIA. The NHL owners have already approved the sale, but the parties are still awaiting approval from the NBA Board of Governors.

⚽ NWSL sponsors improve bonuses

The NWSL increased the bonus pool for players this season, thanks in part to sponsorship funds from UKG and CarMax. The finalists of this year’s Challenge Cup will earn a combined $500K, while winning players will take home around $13.4K each and NWSL Shield bonuses for the champs will jump from $10K to $15K per player.

  • As for the playoffs, athletes on the championship-winning team will pocket $15K each. Finalists will earn $11.3K, semifinalists will pick up $7.5K, and quarterfinalists will enjoy $3.5K. No time for losers.

🚲 TikTok backs Tour de France

TikTok will partner with both the women’s and men’s editions of the Tour de France this year, and will dispatch creators to document each stage of the scenic races. The Tour’s official account will post videos every day, while the brand will launch a dedicated search page for both races. Wheely exciting stuff.

🎾 Wimbledon’s AI commentator

Wimbledon partnered with longtime sponsor IBM to offer AI-generated audio commentary and captions for its online highlights. The AI feature will be available on Wimbledon’s app and website courtesy of IBM’s WatsonX platform, which will also offer AI-powered analysis of the singles competition.

Buzzer Beaters

📺 Angel City’s Saturday win over the San Diego Wave drew 474K viewers on CBS, the second-largest regular season audience for an NWSL match.

🤸 LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne signed a name, image, and likeness deal with Motorola to promote their new Razr+ phone.

🎥 Disney will produce Ella: A Modern Day Fairytale — an animated short about England’s women’s soccer team — and distribute free printed books to local schools.

Spain’s Liga F ended things with top sponsor Finetwork, alleging that the telecom company owes the league $4.4M. Finetwork denies there’s a contractual agreement. Drama.

🏀 WNBA standout Chiney Ogwumike is the co-founder of Hang Academy, a women’s mentorship program at streaming platform Hang.

🤝 Athletes Unlimited will host a tech-focused Innovation Collective Summit in the Chicago suburbs during August.

💰 Tina Thornton was promoted to executive vice president of creative studio and marketing at ESPN.

The GIST's Picks

Here’s what has The GIST team currently hyped:

🏳️‍⚧️ How to support

With these threads. In honor of Pride, we've teamed up with @MegEmikoArt, a trans activist and artist, to create a “Protect Trans Athletes” line, with 50% of profits being donated to the GenderCool Project.

💻 What to read

Axios’ list of the best cities for pickleball. The sport is on the rise and more courts are being installed across the country. Is your city on the list?

👀 What to look out for

This upcoming documentary on polarizing MLB legend Barry Bonds. HBO announced the project will come from the producers of The Last Dance — sounds like a home run.

🎟️ What to enter:

This contest to win an expenses-paid VIP trip for two to the NY Liberty’s July 27th game, team ’fits included. Welcome to New York.