A New Partnership Will Boost Media Investment In Women's Sports

Angela Ruggiero, the four-time Olympian, and gold-medal-winning ice hockey star have made it her mission to get more media attention and sponsorship dollars dedicated to women's sports.

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As an athlete, she got a front-row seat to the disparities between men's and women's sports during her playing days and her time as the chairperson of the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission. She is now dedicated to changing that through her company, the Sports Innovation Lab, through which she is advancing that cause.

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The Ruggiero Sports Innovation Lab announced on Tuesday that a partnership with the bank Ally would be formed to form the Women’s Sports Club, a coalition of major brands and media that will work together to combat some of the challenges associated with buying women’s sports inventory as well as to raise the level of investment in the sport.

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In a bid to drive media spending in women's sports, more than 20 global brands that buy and sell sports media and sponsorships have come together to form a cooperative. There are a number of companies that are part of this program, such as Morgan Stanley, Nike, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, and Delta, in addition to leagues such as the WNBA and LPGA.

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As part of the Women's Sports Club, meetings will take place at significant media events and sporting events throughout the year, beginning with the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas next week.

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“There is no doubt that women's sports are here to stay, and everyone agrees that investing in them is a wise business decision," Ruggiero stated. “As far as scaled media buys are concerned, there are real barriers that prevent brands from placing them. This challenge has been taken on by the Women's Sports Club head-on."

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It is the goal of the club to address a problem that has hindered women's sports for decades: Brands say there isn't enough mass media coverage to justify advertising dollars, while broadcasters say that there aren't enough advertising dollars to justify media coverage.

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There are often unfavorable time slots for women's sports, which has resulted in less viewership and smaller media deals for women's sports. The leagues lose out on value as a result of this, and players receive lower salaries as a result.

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There has been significant research done by the Sports Innovation Lab on the impact of women's sports, and the research shows that the segment is growing its fan base twice as fast as the broader, general sports fan community as a whole.

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“Women's sports fans are more brand loyal; they watch longer. They're deeper consumers than casual men's fans," Ruggiero said.

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“We believe it is as simple as putting deeds before words when it comes to achieving our goals. The fact that investing in women's sports is good for business is already well known to us," said Andrea Brimmer, Ally's chief marketing and public relations officer.

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There has been a major media buy by Ally earlier this week with ESPN. As part of the one-year, multimillion-dollar deal, ESPN is required to put 90% of its investment into showcasing women's sports, including expanding highlights, brand content, and features across the entire ESPN network. Furthermore, the company partnered with the National Women's Soccer League and increased its media investment with CBS in order to elevate the league championship match into a primetime time slot for the first time ever as well. During the next five years, the company is committed to ensuring that it spends equal amounts on men's and women's sports.

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“It is really going to be a challenge to figure out where we'll be putting our money, that will be the biggest challenge. As it stands, there just isn't enough inventory in women's sports to get us to a 50-50 split. The Women's Sports Club, together with some of the biggest brands, will be able to solve that problem, and it is one that they are eager to tackle," Brimmer said.