July 17, 2024

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The WNBA’s media rights are another watershed moment for the league and women’s sports overall. … The Braves are on the clock for the next MLB All-Star Game, and the club has big plans. … Front Office Sports debuts a new video series. … The NWSL will be well-represented at the Paris Olympics. … Plus: More on Angel City, Cosm, Adidas, and Florida State.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

A ‘Seismic Shift’ for Women’s Sports: WNBA Lands $2.2 Billion Rights Deal [[link removed]]

The Indianapolis Star

The WNBA’s reported 11-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deals [[link removed]] with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon are just the latest win for women’s sports, which have been riding a wave of historic momentum in recent years.

With attendance and viewership rising across many leagues, broadcasters have been paying up big time for women’s sports. When the WNBA’s new deals begin in 2026, media companies will be paying at least $325 million annually for three of the top women’s sports properties.

WNBA: $200 million Women’s March Madness: $65 million [[link removed]] (ESPN) NWSL: $60 million [[link removed]] (ESPN, Amazon, CBS, Scripps Sports)

Other recent, but smaller, media-rights deals for women’s sports competitions include Fox picking up [[link removed]] the UEFA Women’s Euros and Peacock acquiring [[link removed]] the soon-to-launch USL Super League. The PWHL is looking [[link removed]] for a marquee U.S. deal after its debut season.

What’s Next for the WNBA?

News of the WNBA media-rights deals comes as the league heads into All-Star weekend, in Phoenix, before going on a nearly monthlong break while its top players compete in the Paris Olympics. Saturday’s All-Star Game format will see Team USA members face off against other league all-stars.

The WNBA may not be done negotiating its rights deals, either. The league anticipates selling two other packages that could bring in another $60 million annually, according to The Athletic [[link removed]]. That would give current media partners CBS Sports and Scripps Sports a chance to retain their respective WNBA relationships.

With Fever rookie Caitlin Clark helping fuel ratings records [[link removed]] on every channel she plays on, sticking with the WNBA would seem like a no-brainer for rights holders.

“Scripps Sports is proud of our involvement, investment, and commitment to the WNBA and its growth,” the company’s president, Brian Lawlor, tells Front Office Sports. “We believe we are an important part of the visibility of the league and hope to be able to continue serving WNBA audiences with appointment TV on Friday nights on Ion for many years to come.” CBS Sports declined to comment when asked by FOS.

A Hot Commodity

Leagues like the WNBA are seeing media-rights increases in part because sponsors are more excited than they used to be about being associated with women’s sports.

Ad measurement company EDO estimates that WNBA ad revenue has nearly doubled from $6.6 million in 2022 to $12.4 million in ’24, with fans 44% more likely to engage with league commercials so far this season compared to the same period last year. “The WNBA’s expanded media footprint marks a seismic shift in recognizing the immense value of women’s sports,” Laura Grover, a senior vice president at EDO, tells FOS.

“We know that live sports has always been one of the most premium packages that are demanded from our advertisers,” says Kenneth Suh, the chief strategy officer for advertising technology company Nexxen. “And we now know that women’s sports inventories are also starting to demand high interest from buyers, as well, and previously that just wasn’t the case.”

Still Not Enough?

Despite the historic nature of the WNBA deals, the leader of the league’s players’ association is still not satisfied with how the product is being valued in comparison to the NBA, which is on the cusp of announcing deals worth $76 billion over the same 11-year period. The reported WNBA deals would be worth less than 3% of the NBA’s.

“The NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson said [[link removed]] in a statement, referencing the NBA’s role in negotiating the WNBA deals. “We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million [annual] valuation—if initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, the players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”

Braves’ Bold Plans, Political Backdrop Shape All-Star Game Prep [[link removed]]

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Braves are now on the clock for MLB’s next All-Star Game with the 2024 edition at Globe Life Field complete. But the upcoming Midsummer Classic carries a sense of expanding ambition from the host club and the weight of broader politics that forced a prior removal of the event from Atlanta.

A group of about 50 people from Georgia—a mix of Braves employees, elected officials, and public safety personnel—traveled to Texas to shadow their counterparts as MLB and the Rangers executed this year’s All-Star Game.

While accounting for best practices, MLB’s All-Star Game is still designed to reflect its host market as much as possible. To that end, Braves executives said they intend to lean heavily into their Southern culture, as well as Atlanta’s extensive experience as a big-event town, having hosted spectacles such as the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, and March Madness in recent years.

“We’re not intimidated by what needs to happen. Atlanta is a town that has a lot of history with big events like this, and it does them very well,” Braves president and CEO Derek Schiller tells Front Office Sports. “The focus for us is to bring this event to life in our market and make it truly embody Atlanta.”

Among other elements in development for the 2025 All-Star Game:

The club sees the Georgia voting rights dispute as a nonissue. MLB removed [[link removed]] the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to the state’s controversial voting rights law and potential boycotts from players in response. Since then, some parts of the state law have been adjusted and broader concerns about voter suppression have not necessarily materialized, while newer rules [[link removed]] have kept the issue a prevalent one in Georgia. In late ’23, MLB awarded next year’s All-Star Game to Atlanta as commissioner Rob Manfred lauded [[link removed]] Truist Park and adjacent Battery as “gems in terms of facilities.” Georgia remains a critical swing state in this fall’s U.S. presidential election. But Schiller says the club is not dwelling on the subject. “It’s full speed ahead for us,” he says. Changes are happening at Truist Park, with more to come. The ballpark is only seven years old, and, with The Battery, remains an industry model for sports-centered, mixed-use development. But the Braves on Wednesday introduced [[link removed]] an expanded version of their popular Chop House seating at the ballpark, as well as a new premium area, the Bullpen, featuring breathable mesh seats and television monitors. The changes, arriving for the start of the 2025 season, are just the beginning of a much larger series of upgrades planned at the ballpark. “We can’t stand still,” Schiller says. “It’s always about what else do we have to offer, what else can we be doing?” Downtown Atlanta will be an important factor. This year, the All-Star Game events were heavily concentrated in Arlington while the draft [[link removed]] was in Fort Worth, leaving Dallas with a much smaller presence. The Braves, conversely, plan to incorporate downtown Atlanta heavily into All-Star week and involve the broader region as much as possible. The logo for the 2025 All-Star Game will be unveiled Monday. Marking the formal handoff of the event from one host city to the next, the unveiling will include a parade through the Battery of Braves alumni. Braves legends will additionally be a fixture throughout next year’s events. The club’s dynasty of the 1990s and early 2000s produced a bevy of All-Stars and Hall of Famers, many of whom will be central figures in next year’s run of events.

“We, of course, have had a lot of All-Stars. But so many of them also still live right in the [Atlanta] area, which is great,” Schiller says.

SPONSORED BY UBS

Expanding Access to Youth Hockey

UBS and the New York Islanders are proud to be in the third year of a five-year, $1 million–plus sponsorship of 43 Oak Foundation. 43 Oak Foundation supports young hockey players with reaching their athletic goals while mentoring them to be the best versions of themselves, on and off the ice.

The sponsorship delivers financial support to players from ice time to transportation, and a program for players that includes hockey skills training as well as professional and academic development workshops.

Through the sponsorship, 43 Oak Foundation is now able to serve 150 families in the U.S. and Canada.

UBS’s sponsorship of 43 Oak Foundation solidifies its commitment to increasing diversity in hockey. Learn more [[link removed]] about the sponsorship.

ONE BIG FIG Well Represented

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

56

Number of NWSL players representing their countries at the Paris Olympics, the most [[link removed]] of any league in the world. The USWNT (above) leads the pack with 19 NWSL players on its roster—including alternates—followed by Canada, the defending Olympic champion, which has 10.

The Pride, which sits atop the NWSL table entering the nearly seven-week break, are tied with the Thorns for the most NWSL players represented at seven. Orlando’s notable representatives include Zambia’s Barbra Banda, Brazil’s Marta, and England’s Anna Moorhouse.

FOS EXPLAINS Sharapova’s Impressive Path

FOS graphic

Introducing FOS Explains: A new series on YouTube where we dive into the business stories of legendary athletes, controversial stadiums, powerful owners, and more.

Today: Maria Sharapova’s journey [[link removed]] from teenage tennis phenom to influential executive and investor.

🎧 Watch and subscribe on YouTube [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Down

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Angel City ⬆ Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, purchased [[link removed]] a controlling stake in the NWSL club (above) at a valuation of $250 million, with the franchise claiming [[link removed]] it is now the most valuable women’s sports team in the world. The previous record price for an NWSL franchise sale was held by the San Diego Wave.

Cosm ⬆ The Sphere in Las Vegas isn’t the only place to have an experiential viewing experience. Cosm [[link removed]], which opened its first Sphere-like venue in Los Angeles last month, announced its Dallas location will open this fall. The company is looking to bring an immersive viewership experience of televised live games, as it did with the recent Copa América final. [[link removed]]

Adidas ⬆ Revenue is up 11% in Q2 for the German-based brand, with its profit of $371.7 million in the quarter nearly doubling last year’s figure. The results follow a strong Q1 for Adidas, which has seen its stock increase nearly 30% year-to-date. The company’s decision to sell off the remainder of the Yeezy inventory [[link removed]] has been a catalyst for the strong year so far.

Florida State ⬇The SEC and Big Ten are not keen on adding FSU once it is able to depart from the ACC, according to a report by Action Network. [[link removed]] The Seminoles reportedly would want to prioritize joining one of those two conferences with favorable media-rights deals, but the conferences have several reasons for not wanting to add FSU, including the school showing “it’s not a good partner.”

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Conversation Starters Bryce Harper was one of six MLB players to receive a bonus for making this year’s All-Star Game. Check out [[link removed]] who else got a pay bump. Speaking of the All-Stars, the other players enjoyed several perks—including $25,000 for each on the winning American League team. Legendary USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard joined [[link removed]] the Houston Dynamo ownership group, which also owns the NWSL’s Dash. Editors’ Picks Angels and Anaheim Reach $2.75 Million Stadium Settlement [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]Two years ago, an FBI investigation derailed a stadium agreement. Manfred ‘Comfortable’ With A’s Move to Vegas Despite Funding Hurdles [[link removed]]by Eric Fisher [[link removed]]Rob Manfred continues to back A’s owner John Fisher, even as concerns grow in Las Vegas and Sacramento. Women’s Sports Merch Is a $4 Billion Market, but Supply Isn’t Meeting Demand [[link removed]]by Stephanie Kaloi [[link removed]]Retailers can’t make women’s sports apparel fast enough. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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