The GIST

Investing in women athletes could be a game-changer for brands

Unlike the limit, the perfect women’s sports brand marketing strategy does exist — at least according to Parity, who released its latest research report yesterday about the business of women’s sports.

June 13, 2025

Final approval of House v. NCAA settlement agreement will reshape college sports

Last Friday, the $2.8B lawsuit settlement that will remake the business of college sports, House v. NCAA, was officially approved. This will usher in a new era where athletic departments can share up to about $20.5M of revenue per year directly with student-athletes via name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals.

June 09, 2025

SponsorUnited shares insights on WNBA and NWSL sponsorship revenue

This week, data insights platform SponsorUnited (SU) shared new intel with The GIST about revenue generation in the WNBA and NWSL. After comparing revenue and existing deals, the findings illustrate the leagues’ immense YoY growth while still underlining the remaining gap when compared to men’s sports.

June 06, 2025

The Sports Bra announces first franchise sites as women’s sports bars multiply across the country

Yesterday, Portland-based women’s sports bar The Sports Bra named the first four cities for its forthcoming expansion. Since opening in 2022, The Sports Bra has spurred a movement of independent women’s sports bars popping up across the U.S. and is now looking to become a multi-city franchise of its own.

June 04, 2025

Fubo rolls out its Women's Sports Zone as FAST channels cover the women’s game

Sports-focused FAST channel Fubo recently launched its Women's Sports Zone while touting highly-customizable ad campaigns for brands. Inspired by viewers’ interest in women’s sports, Fubo found a way to activate in the space without having any direct media rights for a major league.

May 23, 2025

E.l.f. continues to consider women fans of men’s sports through NASCAR partnership

We’ve seen makeup brands go big in women’s sports lately, including E.l.f.’s support of the PWHL and Overtime Select. But the brand’s decision to rev up its investment in NASCAR, coupled with previous NFL activations, shows that catering to women who follow men’s sports is a unique and effective way to reach a historically overlooked demo.

May 23, 2025

The GIST and Barbarian team up for a data-powered report on the ROI in women’s sports

This week, The GIST debuted a new report in partnership with NYC agency Barbarian that explores the proven interest and investment potential in women’s sports. The report delineates the paradigm shift in how the category is considered, the intense audience engagement among women’s sports fans, and identifies trends to keep an eye on.

May 21, 2025

Sports Business

2025 media upfronts shed light on 2024 wins for sports networks and streamers

May 19, 2025

Last week, broadcast networks and streamers shared a glimpse into current strategies during the 2025 Upfronts in NYC. Companies like NBC, Amazon, Netflix, and Disney all observed the same trend: It’s smart to double down on live sports because of the impressive engagement the industry generates, both from viewers and advertisers.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #465

The French Open’s sexist scheduling

June 05, 2025

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

The math isn’t mathing.

Sexism is in the air at Roland-Garros. For the second straight year, no women’s matches have been scheduled at night at the French Open, relegating high-profile matches to morning slots where there are fewer fans in the stands, and crucially, fewer viewers across the pond. On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz dig into this prime-time gender gap and all the fun storylines you probably missed on the women’s side.

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