🏀 A meeting of (like) minds
Inaugural Girls Summit brings together major sponsors for girls’ basketball in NYC
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Basketball nonprofit PeacePlayers is hosting its first-ever, in-person Girls Summit event in NYC this weekend. Big brand stars are showing up to support girls in sports during the event, which is a meaningful investment in community and brand equity.
March 29, 2024
🏀 Watch the throne
New data illustrates Caitlin Clark’s dominance in the college basketball conversation
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While official data points from women's March Madness have yet to drop, there’s a general consensus building that the women’s tournament is more compelling than the men’s. A recent Seton Hall Sports Poll (the first and only university-based poll on the sports industry) reflects the rising popularity of women’s college basketball.
March 25, 2024
💸 A total sellout
Women’s March Madness sells out of advertising with projected $25M in sales
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As of this week, women’s March Madness ads are effectively sold out. It’s estimated that Disney — the network that owns the women’s tournament — could generate more than $25M in ad sales revenue this year, up from the estimated $19.4M ESPN and ABC made during last year’s tourney.
March 22, 2024
📈 Nothing but (cutting) net
NCAA women’s basketball tournament sees exponential growth since utilizing the March Madness branding
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This year’s women’s March Madness is expected to outperform the men’s across a variety of metrics, in large part thanks to Sedona Prince’s whistleblowing in 2021 that shed light on the gender disparity between the men’s and women’s tournaments. Here’s how the competition has grown in the years since.
March 18, 2024
📈 Eye on the tiger
NCAA women’s basketball tournaments net record viewership and attendance highs
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The 2023-24 NCAA women’s basketball season was one for the books, and it’s not even over yet. Leading up to March Madness, women’s collegiate conference tournaments shattered records across the board, with the Big Ten and SEC tournaments drawing viewership in the millions.
March 15, 2024
🏀 Back in the Headlines
Billionaire Larry Tanenbaum revives efforts to bring WNBA to Toronto
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Canadian billionaire Larry Tanenbaum is reportedly working to bring a WNBA franchise to Toronto after previous efforts stalled last year. Tanenbaum is chairman of the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) sports group — owner of Toronto’s NHL, NBA, and MLS franchises — and is hoping to add women’s basketball to his sports portfolio.
March 06, 2024
🤝 Acing Allyship
Ally enters WNBA sponsorship space with extensive Las Vegas Aces partnership
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Financial services company Ally — a women’s sports sponsorship heavy-hitter — inked a multiyear deal with the two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces yesterday, marking the brand’s first foray into the league.
March 06, 2024
🏀 Fever (sales) pitch
Indiana Fever report increase in ticket sales and interest thanks to Caitlin Clark
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March 04, 2024
The Caitlin Clark Effect. Clarkonomics. The Iowa star’s game-changing influence on college basketball encompasses many terms, but thanks to her declaration for the 2024 WNBA Draft, there’s a new one: Caitlin Clark Fever. Clark is already reshaping the economy for her expected landing place, the Indiana Fever.
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 Sports betting scandals & previewing the March Madness Sweet 16s
Ep #353

Sports betting scandals & previewing the March Madness Sweet 16s

March 28, 2024

Howdy!

Today’s episode of The GIST of It is a three-part special diving into recent sports betting headlines involving the NBA and NCAA before previewing the men’s and women’s March Madness Sweet 16s.

In part one, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz break down the latest on Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter, who’s at the center of a gambling investigation following a series of unusual prop bets involving the fringe NBA player.

Then in parts two and three, it’s all about the Big Dance, with previews of the jam-packed weekend ahead in NCAA men’s and women’s hoops as we whittle down to the Final Four.

Thank you to Aflac for supporting today’s episode. From their longtime collaboration with South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley to helping folks tackle the gaps in their healthcare coverage, you can count on Aflac to empower women on the hard court and in life’s hardest moments. Learn more at Aflac.com.

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📈 Growing, growing, gone
Ticket sales for the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament reflect Caitlin Clark Effect
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After a record-breaking women’s March Madness in 2023, the popularity of women’s college basketball — and namely aforementioned Iowa star Caitlin Clark — keeps on growing, but the NCAA is still playing catch up. The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament officially sold out this weekend, two whole weeks before the event tips off.
February 26, 2024
🏀 Missed connection
NBC misses historic opportunity to air Caitlin Clark in order to promote Peacock
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NBC has been enjoying the perks of the Caitlin Clark Effect, but when it came to airing her historic NCAA moment, the network didn’t put the game on linear television — a decision that not only cost them a larger audience, but also likely impeded the momentum of Clark’s popularity.
February 21, 2024
⚖️ Crossover event
Stephen vs. Sabrina contest illustrates various benefits of NBA–WNBA collaboration
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Last Saturday’s Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-point challenge was the first formal competition between an NBA and WNBA player during All-Star Weekend. Seeing the athletes on equal footing proves we’re beyond the “Battle of the Sexes” dichotomy — fans simply want to see legends of the game compete, something that will help both leagues.
February 21, 2024
📺 Shattering expectations
Shattered Glass: A WNBPA Story premieres on free streaming service Tubi
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In an effort to peer into the internal workings of the league, Shattered Glass: A WNBPA Story premiered on free streaming service Tubi yesterday. The documentary focuses on three athletes at the top of their game: NY Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, and WNBPA president and current free agent Nneka Ogwumike.
February 02, 2024
🏀 A sisterly assist
Athletes Unlimited returns for it third basketball season
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Yesterday, AU released its 2024 roster, which features 29 current and former WNBA athletes, and announced that games will be available for free on the WNBA App for the first time ever.
January 31, 2024
🏆 Crossover appeal
The Syd + TP Show was selected for the first-ever SLAM Film Festival
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The February event will be the first dedicated exclusively to basketball content, and while most entries are men’s basketball features, the WNBA–focused reality show is riding a months-long hype train.
January 29, 2024