Women Athletes Are the Sports World's Growth Stocks
This year's World Cup kicks off as the upside potential of female competitors now exceeds that of their male counterparts.
Now is the time for investors to cash in on women’s sports. Photographer: Alex Grimm
Photographer: Alex Grimm/Getty Images EuropeEarly projections show that this year's Women's World Cup could reach 2 billion viewers, nearly double the 1.12 billion fans who watched the 2019 edition of the tournament. Participating athletes have seen a surge of interest ahead of Thursday’s kickoff. On Instagram, Swiss star Alisha Lehmann has watched her follower count hit 13.4 million, up 75% over the last year. That following is worth real money. According to ratings agency Nielsen Sports, a single Instagram post by Lehmann is worth $307,000 in media value to a sponsor.
Lehmann isn't an outlier. Women's sports are growing in popularity and value. Better yet, that growth is no longer dependent upon quadrennial events like the Olympics or World Cups (though, as this year's tournament will likely prove, they certainly help). Investors, who've long been on the sidelines of women's sports, shouldn't wait to cash in.
Though women athletes haven’t yet reached the moneyed heights of men -- top male World Cup stars have far larger Instagram followings and media value -- the growth potential is greater for them than it is for their male counterparts.
For example, in the US, the value of women's professional soccer franchises have increased more than 10-fold in recent years. In Los Angeles, the Angel City FC team ownership group paid a $2 million fee to join the National Women's Soccer League in 2020; in April, a group led by private equity firm Sixth Street committed to a record $53 million expansion fee to place a NWSL team in San Francisco.
This should be a welcome sign to more investors, but they will have to confront some issues. Among other difficulties, men's team sports are well established as media properties and enjoy prime television viewing slots -- such as Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the autumn for college and professional football -- that women's sports can't hope to challenge (for now).
Even leagues with followings and TV deals -- such as the Women’s National Basketball Association -- have had inconsistent schedules that make it difficult to become appointment viewing à la Monday Night Football. (That's finally changing with a regular Friday night game for the WNBA this season.)
The barrier extends beyond live broadcasts of games. In 2019, only 5.4% of televised sports news and highlights were devoted to women's sports. For years, these informal blackouts froze women's sports into niche events.