A new report by EDO — a marketing platform that measures the effectiveness of TV ads — offers metrics about 2023’s women’s sports viewership. It shares meaningful insight on ad engagement trends in sports like tennis and basketball, with data supporting the marketability case for rising stars like Coco Gauff and Caitlin Clark.

Canadian Tire (CTC) is leveraging its unparalleled brand power to become a changemaker in Canadian women’s sports sponsorship. CTC’s AVP of Community Impact & Sport Partnerships Ashley Curran recently spoke with The GIST about the company’s efforts to transform the women’s sports landscape in Canada through its Women’s Sport Initiative.

The Women’s Super League (WSL) is enjoying a 43% attendance boost YoY, with Arsenal leading the way in proving that the league deserves a bigger stage. While popularity and crowd sizes do vary among clubs, the overall numbers show upward trends across the board.

24 Hour Fitness is bulking up its existing NWSL ties. After renewing and expanding its year-long sponsorship of San Diego Wave FC last month, the gym brand signed a multiyear deal yesterday to become a founding level partner of Angel City FC.

As the UK further invests in expanding its women’s soccer footprint, governmental agency UK Sport shared its ambitions to host the country’s first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) in the 2030s.

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.

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.

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.

NWSL owners rolled out new rules last week about how private equity (PE) funds can invest in multiple teams. The policy also excludes sovereign wealth funds from ownership, meaning Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other state-owned investment funds will be unable to buy NWSL stakes as the league grows.

Parity — a platform that connects pro women athletes to aggregated marketing and sponsorship opportunities — was named the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) yesterday.

This week, UK marketing agency Redtorch released its SportOnSearch 2024 report, which analyzes fan engagement with sports properties via Google Trends data. The findings show interest in women’s sports across the board — in fact, all women’s sports properties recorded growth in 2023.

Soccer tech company TOCA announced an extensive multiyear partnership with Angel City FC teammates (and sisters!) Alyssa and Gisele Thompson yesterday. While the Thompsons have secured groundbreaking deals in the past, this marks their first deal that includes an equity stake.