And one
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
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West Coast best coast? You bet. On Monday, the PWHL exclusively told The GIST that the league’s newest franchises in Vancouver and Seattle have already accumulated more than 10K season ticket member deposits combined.
- It’s an impressive feat, but one that makes sense for Pacific Northwest natives. Seattle Kraken star Jamie Oleksiak noted the intense rivalry between the NHL’s Seattle and Vancouver teams will likely extend over to the PWHL. Talk about flow.
WNBA
🚗 Feeling testy
The GIST: Yesterday, the WNBA announced that partner CarMax activated its Tip-Off Test Drive promotion once again, meaning fans can catch the beginning of the season on WNBA League Pass for free. Sponsoring exclusive, free content is a fantastic way to rev up positive brand association, which is especially key in a space where consumers reward their favorite sponsors. Driving to the basket.
The details: From May 16th to 21st, fans can stream up to 12 games for free on the WNBA App without a subscription or entering payment info. Additionally, CarMax plans to extend this offering during other portions of the upcoming season.
The precedent: While the NWSL+ app is free, men’s sports have monetized their app offerings with select networks and league partners. The NBA App is powered by league partner Microsoft, while Amazon has offered Prime members a free seven-day trial of NBA League Pass — and that’s before its new NBA partnership kicks in.
- And though it’s tough to break into the NFL media rights landscape, YouTube managed to do so by paying $2B annually for NFL Sunday Ticket, a move that drove up YouTube TV subscriptions from 5M in 2022 to more than 8M after the 2023 season. The kick is good.
The benefit: There’s plenty of data proving people love a free trial, with an estimated 58% to 78% converting to paid subscriptions afterwards. Less than 6% of subscribers make a habit of canceling subscriptions during the trial, proving a free sample is often a baited hook for a long-term customer. For a league looking to grow fandom, a trial is a hassle-free way to appeal to new viewers.
- And for CarMax, a brand that is intentionally striving for brand consideration in the NWSL and WNBA, it’s an easy way to win favor among women’s sports fans who tend to favor companies that sponsor their favorite leagues and athletes.
Zooming out: It’s no secret that people love freebies, and while CarMax’s approach is a low-lift, high-impact way of reaching engaged W viewers, there are other creative ways sponsors can get a similar boost. Offering discounts on merch or ticket prices are also ways brands can encourage fandom and, by extension, brand loyalty. And one.
WNBA
🏀 Coast to coast
The GIST: With the WNBA season tipping off tomorrow, we’re seeing an increase in aspirational companies choosing to partner with the W. And according to the latest data insights from Sports Innovation Lab (SIL), there’s a reason why brands like Fenty Beauty are choosing the WNBA, especially teams like the NY Liberty and Golden State Valkyries. Let’s dive in.
🗽 The NY Liberty: NYC is an epicenter of culture and style, and while SIL says W fans are 3x more likely to buy Fenty than average consumers, Liberty fans overindex on spending for Fenty. Compared to the general population, they are 4x more likely to purchase from the Rihanna-owned company.
- And it’s not just beauty brands — this week, luxury suitcase company Away became the latest trendy brand to roll out a partnership with the Liberty.
🌉 The Golden State Valkyries: The first expansion team since 2008, the Valkyries have recorded historic ticket interest and became the first to sell more than 10K season tickets for its home games before its inaugural season. The team has already bagged plenty of local sponsors, from Kaiser Permanente and Chase to its recent multiyear founding partnership deal with PG&E.
- Like the Liberty, the Valkyries are attracting new, innovative sponsors to the league such as Olly, the team’s official health and wellness partner and the first-ever WNBA team partner in the vitamins, minerals, and supplements category.
The takeaway: Luxury brands should consider teaming up with W teams because that’s where their ideal customer base is: WNBA fans are 20% more likely to buy luxury, and 11% of fans shop the category. In NYC and San Francisco, two of the nation’s sports and culture hubs, sponsors are recognizing an engaged, widespread fanbase with a proven interest in aspirational brands.
- That is something that cemented the Liberty partnership for Away: The company noted that among the over 10M Liberty fans across the U.S., an estimated 4.9 million of them plan to travel in the next six months. Ready for takeoff.
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⛳ Ally shares wins from first year of U.S. Women’s Open sponsorship
After one year, the bank has seen increased brand favorability and recognition among women’s golf fans: Ninety-one percent of people who recognize Ally as a U.S. Women's Open sponsor are favorable to the company, 1.8x higher than consumers overall. Activating around the Open also boosted brand awareness by 5% for Ally and saw a 31% higher recognition rate for its partnership.
📱 Sportico observes WNBA player popularity on social media compared to teams
Although the W is skyrocketing in popularity, much of that seems to be driven by fandom for specific players rather than teams. Sportico’s Lev Akabas posited that if Instagram following is a measure of popularity, many of the league’s biggest athletes are more popular than any single WNBA team.
- Although the Indiana Fever lead teams with 688K followers, at least 10 different W players boast over 1M followers. This includes Fever star Caitlin Clark, who has almost as many Insta followers as the W’s account, and league leader Angel Reese, who has over 8x the number of followers her Chicago Sky does.
⚽ NWSL and USWNT legend Alex Morgan became an investor and minority owner in the San Diego Wave FC, her former NWSL club, earlier this week. Catch a wave.
📺 Starting today, DirecTV will begin streaming Scripps Ion’s Friday night WNBA doubleheaders across linear and digital platforms.
💼 The Pro Padel League enlisted Horizon Sports & Experiences to manage sponsorships and advise on media rights negotiations.
🚀 Rebel Girls announced an expanded partnership with Nike and a new deal with Dove to build on the brands’ joint Body Confident Sport initiative.
✨ Natural skincare brand Po Athletic launched a haircare line that was created with Canadian Olympic swimmer Summer McIntosh. Sound familiar?
🥎 AUSL debuted its first in-season impact partnership with Coach Across America to support its nationwide initiative to increase the number of women coaches in youth sports.
⚡ The Seattle Storm announced a new multiyear deal with Washington-based toy company Funko Inc., marking the first time these two local brands have collaborated.
🤝 Dick’s Sporting Goods (DSG) is reportedly acquiring Foot Locker for $2.4B, causing Foot Locker shares to jump 85% while DSG’s price fell 14.6%, signaling investors may have their doubts. If the shoe fits…
Together With Intuit QuickBooks
1️⃣ The problem with being a “first?” The pressure to succeed. When Jenny Nguyen opened The Sports Bra, the first-ever women’s sports bar, she understood the challenges of blazing a trail — that’s why she made the easy decision to handle her finances with Intuit QuickBooks.
- QuickBooks has been there every step of the way, helping Nguyen draw insights from initial business reports, which laid the groundwork for turning The Sports Bra from a “first” to a franchise. No place to go but up.
Hi. It’s us. We’re the recommenders, it ’s us.
🏃 How to treat your sore quads
Try Lazarus Naturals’ CBD Balm Stick, a topical that provides targeted pain relief and speeds up recovery time so you can get back to pounding the pavement. Use code GIST20 for 20% off your first order.*
🏀 What to read
This article about how basketball is changing classrooms. From LeBron James’ I PROMISE School in Ohio to a Berlin program blending hoops and homework, the game is shaping young minds on and off the court.
🧢 What to shop
Game day outfits. Anthropologie linked up with The Wild Collective to release elevated fan gear — think tailored jackets and playful prints.
*P.S. This is a sponsored post. Recovery is key.Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam and Marga Sison. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Molly Potter and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.