Sports Business | The GIST

Athlos CMO Kayla Green discusses brand wins from Athlos NYC 2025

On Saturday, the aforementioned Ohanian’s Athlos held Athlos NYC, its second annual track tournament in the iconic culture capital. The event welcomed several key wins that helped build the case for sustainable growth ahead of its 2026 expansion, from viewership increases to creative partner activations.

October 15, 2025

New Balance announces nine NIL partnerships as brand shares strategy in signing Gen Z athletes early

Today, New Balance (NB) announced NIL deals for several women athletes, namely from developing spaces in basketball and soccer and emerging sports like softball. The sponsorships are a response to how high school and collegiate pipelines are building across all women’s sports — and so are the marketing opportunities.

October 15, 2025

USC Annenberg report illustrates how athlete media economy has ample room for women

Yesterday, USC Annenberg published a first-of-its-kind report on the athlete-owned media economy. It identifies movers and shakers in the space, but also notes the gap between men and women athletes — women were featured in only 22% of the athlete-owned podcasts analyzed.

October 10, 2025

New Snapchat data confirms the power and influence of women athletes on social media

Last week, Snapchat teamed up with marketing agency Dentsu and research firm Ipsos to publish insights on the consumption of women’s sports, especially among frequent Snapchat users. The app surveyed over 13K sports fans across seven countries, including India and Australia, and uncovered what daily Snapchat users had to say about women’s sports.

October 10, 2025

Rebel Girls announces new family-friendly sports program with Swerve Sports

Today, girls empowerment platform Rebel Girls (RG) announced a new partnership with Swerve Sports, a FAST channel dedicated to women’s sports that’s available in 80% of U.S. and Canadian households. Together, the partnership will create Rebel Girl Sports Hour, a first-of-its-kind kids and family program for women’s sports that will air under its Rebel Girls Sport vertical.

October 08, 2025

Bad Bunny Super Bowl reactions underscore how Hispanic sports fans remain an overlooked market

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Despite his global appeal and 12 (!!!) Latin Grammy nominations, there’s continued cultural and political controversy over Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime performance, with much of the criticism centering around the singer’s set being entirely in Spanish.

October 06, 2025

WNBA faces turning point as CBA negotiations sour

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It’s officially spooky season in the WNBA as CBA tensions rise ahead of the agreement’s Halloween deadline. With the league generating more revenue than ever — it banked an estimated $226M in 2024 and is expected to haul $500M in 2026 — and players want their rightful slice of the pie.

October 06, 2025

Sports Business

New Booking.com data further illustrates women’s sports fans’ willingness to travel

October 03, 2025

The WNBA Finals are set, meaning the locations and dates are also finally locked in. New data from the W’s official online travel partner Booking.com illustrates a largely untapped opportunity for the travel sector to cash in on women’s sports fandom.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #501

Tara Davis-Woodhall just long jumped in Times Square

October 16, 2025

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Tara Davis-Woodhall just long jumped in Times Square

There’s meeting the moment, and then there’s making a moment.

Last Thursday, long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall made a moment, competing in the middle of Times Square to qualify for the finals at Athlos NYC. The buzzy event caught the world’s attention, but Davis-Woodhall is no stranger to fame as a reigning Olympic and world champ. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, The GIST’s Associate Managing Editor Lauren Tuiskula chats with Davis-Woodhall about sandpits, prepping for major moments, and inspiring confidence as a partner of the Dove Body Confident Sport Program. Enjoy.

Thanks to Fan Duel for their support of this podcast. The buzzer may have sounded on this women’s pro hoops season, but the action never stops with FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app or head to fanduel.com to join in on the fun.

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