Sports Business | The GIST

AI prominence in Super Bowl ads ignites conversation about its role in women’s sports

Super Bowl (SB) ads are often a pulse check on trends in the year to come, at least from an advertising perspective — after all, these are the companies betting big on reaching the most Americans possible in a single spot. And this year, many SB ads featured AI companies and some were even created by AI, although a majority of SB viewers didn’t like them.

February 10, 2026

Brands at the Super Bowl are considering women’s sports, women fans more than ever

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Women make their way to Radio Row

February 07, 2026

Parity survey shows higher fan engagement around women athletes ahead of the Winter Olympics

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On Monday, women athlete partnership platform Parity shared results from a survey of almost 12K adults across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia on how sports fans perceive gender equity in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

February 05, 2026

Rebel Girls doubles down on sports partnership in new AU Pro Basketball deal

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In an exclusive with The GIST today, Gen Alpha girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls (RG) is announcing a new media partnership with Athletes Unlimited’s basketball arm, AU Pro Basketball (AUBB). While basketball has been a priority for RG, evidenced by activations with A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu, this is the brand’s first foray into hoops at the organizational level.

February 03, 2026

How Naomi Osaka’s legacy off the court rivals her accomplishments on it

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The intrigue surrounding Naomi Osaka goes far beyond tennis. Born to a Japanese mom and Haitian-American dad, Osaka trained diligently to become one of American tennis’ top stars.

January 31, 2026

New WNBA franchises embrace winning marketing tactics as they build local hype

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Though the WNBA’s 2026 season schedule remains up in the air due to ongoing CBA negotiations, forthcoming W franchises are rolling ahead with preseason marketing campaigns.

January 29, 2026

Kynisca becomes FIFA Women's Champions Cup title partner

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This week, the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup — the sport’s first-ever intercontinental club competition for women — is fielding its final rounds in London, England. The months-long tournament hasn’t exactly received mainstream media coverage, but that may change thanks to Kynsica’s new title sponsorship.

January 27, 2026

The brands backing a 24-year-old’s push for the Olympics

Sports Business

The brands backing a 24-year-old’s push for the Olympics

January 24, 2026

Annika Malacinski has the kind of Olympic story media outlets and marketers dream of. The 24-year-old daughter of a ski instructor grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado — one of the only areas in the U.S. with the infrastructure to facilitate Nordic combined, a marriage between cross-country skiing and ski jumping.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #529

Heated rivalry: It’s time for Canada vs. the U.S. in Olympic women’s hockey

February 10, 2026

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Heated rivalry: It’s time for Canada vs. the U.S. in Olympic women’s hockey

The iciest, spiciest rivalry.

Today, we’re doing what we do best at The GIST: discuss perhaps the best rivalry in all of sports — Team Canada vs. Team USA women’s hockey. With the group stage of the Olympic women’s tourney almost wrapped, today’s 2:10 p.m. ET showdown is shaping up to be a gold medal match preview. Let’s skate to it.