By: Kloe Adams

Humor Editor

Women’s sports are on course to cross the 1 billion dollar threshold of revenue in 2024, which is 300 percent up from three years ago. The women’s sports bringing in this revenue include professional leagues across the world and high-level amateur competitions such as NCAA Division one events and the Olympics. Deloitte researchers said in a report released in November that these women’s elite sports are on target to generate 1.28 billion dollars in expected revenue in the upcoming year; however, this amount is still less when compared to men’s sports revenue. The predictions broadcast that soccer and basketball will bring in the most money, with $555 million and $354 million respectively next year. 

Women’s soccer success is mainly due to this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which generated more than $570 million in revenue. While women’s soccer continues to draw large audiences in Europe, women’s sports in North America remains the most valuable geographical market, generating more than 50 percent of total global revenue. Deloitte’s global and U.S. sports practice leader, Pete Giorgio, told NBC News on Wednesday that “the total number is interesting, the fact it’s over $1 billion for the first time… I’d love that number to be a lot bigger and I think it’s going to continue to grow.” The National Women’s Soccer League recently signed a contract with an expanded TV package that will be worth $240 million over four years with matches that will be streamed on CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps Sports. 

Another example of women’s sports success, the WNBA season ended on Oct. 18 when the Las Vegas Aces defended their title with a Game 4 victory over New York Liberty, in a contest that averaged 889 thousand TV viewers. Last year, when Las Vegas beat Connecticut for the trophy, the viewership was half that. Giorgio said, “There’s something here. The capital markets agree, the investors agree, you’re seeing it in terms of money flowing into this space.” Anne Blaschke, an associate lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Boston, stated “When women play sports, it shows them in very public ways as symbols of strength, perseverance and competitiveness in ways you don’t usually get to see women when they’re excelling at work or as parents.”

The global head of technology, media, and telecoms research at Deloitte, Paul Lee, believes that the next step in women’s sports is to “maintain habitual viewers who loyally tune in to watch their favorite players, teams and competitions across the season. Broadcasters, streamers and social media platforms will have an important role to play in showcasing major events that capture the interest of new and existing fans, while creating an experience that is memorable and impactful.”. More than half of the total revenue next year is expected to come from commercial income from deals by leagues and teams, while broadcast is expected to bring in 27 percent.

(Sources: CNN, NBC, Women’s Agenda)