Portland’s NWSL, WNBA teams launch local women’s sports channel as joint ownership unlocks powerful opportunities

The GIST: Last week, the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland Fire announced that the organizations — both owned by the Bhathal family — will create a local women’s sports channel in Portland, OR, to showcase content from both teams on Fox 12 Plus. The Fire are also partnering with streaming platform Kiswe to create a dedicated team app.

• It’s the latest example of the Bhathals capitalizing on unique opportunities through joint ownership, which remains rare in women’s sports, and further illustrates how Portland’s culture is famously hospitable to the industry. Let’s dive in.

The city: PDX will definitely have places to air this channel, especially since the first bar dedicated to women’s sports (The Sports Bra) was established there. It also has the first co-shared women’s sports training facility: A repurposed Nike facility that’s undergoing $150M in renovations to accommodate both sports, notably easier under shared ownership.

• Portland has been hailed as a women’s sports epicenter. For years, the community has passionately supported local collegiate teams and the Thorns, which helped its stadium generate $187M in economic output in 2024 and averaged over 18K fans last season. And after finally securing a W bid in 2025, the city landed one of AUSL’s six franchises in January.

The context: No other city has a local channel dedicated to local women’s sports like this, nor a joint women’s sports facility, and shared ownership certainly makes this easier. But seeing the Bhathals unite these leagues through these projects shows that doubling up has so many benefits, especially in a market with broad interest in women’s sports.

• We saw this play out with the W’s Golden State Valkyries, which are owned by Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. Early on, the Valkyries shared resources with the Warriors, including its marketing team and Chase Center venue. The Valkyries even renovated the Warriors’ former Oakland headquarters into a dedicated practice facility.

The opportunity: Sponsors should flag any opportunities through connected franchises, which allow them to reach overlapping but distinct fanbases — especially in Portland, where fans enthusiastically support women’s sports. This is likely the thought behind Kaiser Permanente’s recent deal as the Thorns-Fire practice facility’s naming partner and exclusive medical provider.

• In the basketball-loving Bay Area, the Valkyries’ valuation skyrocketed in year one thanks to fan and brand buy-in. Kaiser Permanente, Chase, and Rakuten extended Warriors deals to cover the Valkyries, and the W team became so popular it reciprocated: Sephora first teamed up with the Valks, then extended its deal to the Warriors. Love to see it.