Saturday Scroll: Why Rebel Girls resonates with Gen Alpha sports fans

Rebel Girls is all about sharing the stories of inspirational women to encourage Gen Alpha girls, and the data shows girls and their families are responding more to sports content. “On Instagram, which is where we talk to families of girls, we're seeing engagement rates rise,” May-Bradley said. “We're getting really good feedback on the stories that we're telling.”

• “When we look at YouTube…what we're seeing is higher time spent viewing. We're seeing better viewership in general. When we look on a consistent basis…it's our women's sports content [that] is performing quite well.”

Rebel Girls shared additional stats on its sports content that further support sports’ draw among this coveted demographic.

• ✨ GRWM (Get Rebel With Me): A play on the “Get Ready With Me” trend, this short video series shows women preparing for athletic pursuits on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Seven episodes in, Instagram engagement is 45% higher than Rebel Girls’ average, while YouTube boasts a nearly 145% average percentage viewed, meaning people are watching multiple times.  

• 🏀 Rebel Girls Weekly Sports Show: The weekly YouTube series hosted by the aforementioned Persley launched this year and just premiered its third episode. View duration is 92% higher than Rebel Girls’ 2025 average, illustrating strong viewer interest and engagement.

• 📈 Viewership growth among younger audiences: In 2026, there’s been a 68% increase among Rebel Girls’ YouTube viewers aged 13 to 17 and a 164% increase among those aged 18 to 24, which the org attributes to younger viewers’ interest in women’s sports content.

May-Bradley highlighted that women’s sports go hand-in-hand with Rebel Girls’ mission. Her team has seen how girls often want to feel a personal connection to the real-life heroes in their stories — they’re inspired by leaders who make the impossible seem possible, and want to know their stories. Women athletes are a natural fit for this kind of storytelling.

From Rebel Girls’ perspective, there are myriad reasons why sports content is uniquely compelling to girls.

• ⚖️ Sports are accessible. They can teach life lessons in a way that’s relatable to virtually anyone — sports are “the great equalizer” for a reason.

• ♥️ They’re emotional. We relate deeply with athletes as they fight for wins and endure losses, and we’re invested in their outcomes.

• 🫂 They build community. May-Bradley noted that while men’s sports evolved from competition, women’s sports are rooted in togetherness and community. This is an ethos Rebel Girls has embraced in their sports storytelling, which celebrates athletes holistically rather than focusing on statlines.

• 👏 Athletes are aspirational and relatable. Whether it’s getting ready with them or heeding life lessons, girls see women athletes as authentic and human. This is why Rebel Girls is leaning into documentary-style storytelling around women athletes and leaders — it knows how powerful reality can be. Nothing like the real thing.

🔥 Welcome to The Heat Check, our weekly segment spotlighting the can’t-miss Unrivaled matchups — and today, we’re in for a real treat because it’s officially time for the Unrivaled Playoffs sponsored by Samsung. So ready for it.

☝️ Before we talk tipoff, here’s the latest: Six teams punched playoff tickets, but only four play in today’s first round. The top two squads (TEAM and TEAM) earned byes straight to Monday’s semifinals in New York City at the 19K-seat Barclays Center. Consider us sat.

Now that you have the lay of the playoff land, here’s today’s two-game slate:

💿 Vinyl BC at 👟 Laces BC — Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET — TruTV

🤝 Hydrate, refuel, and reset

🌬️ Breeze BC at 🌹 Rose BC — Tonight at 9:45 p.m. ET — TruTV

Rebel Girls is quickly becoming an essential conduit connecting Gen Alpha girls with women’s sports. Emerging leagues have clocked as an industry leader: “These leagues need fans, and we are talking to girls, so it's really important they see us as an opportunity to build their fandom,” May-Bradley said.

Having the ear of Gen Alpha also gives Rebel Girls considerable allure in the brand partnership space because this demographic is already influencing purchasing decisions: In a recent survey, ninety-five percent of Gen Alpha parents learn about new products through their kids, and another study found 42% of household spending is impacted by their opinions.

• May-Bradley explained that though brands understand the importance of Gen Alpha girls, they generally don’t know how to connect with them, which is why they turn to Rebel Girls.

• Brands also seek out Rebel Girls when they’re “value-aligned” and believe building up girls’ confidence will build brand affinity.

Much of sports media has tried to tap Gen Z, but the focus on Gen Alpha is more recent, let alone Gen Alpha girls specifically. Rebel Girls has managed to fill a white space here.

• “We see that there is a huge opportunity on the table to bring in young girls into the women's sports ecosystem right now, and nobody's doing it,” May-Bradley said. “We thought that was a darn shame.”

• “You hear a lot about [how] women's sports is a movement and not a moment,” she continued, “and the only way it can be a movement is if there are girls behind the current generation.” She’s not next, she’s now.