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This will be the first time women's sports surpasses that mark, says consulting firm Deloitte.
Right-wing politicians like to say women’s sports are under threat from transgender female athletes, but in reality, women’s sports are thriving, says a new report from Deloitte, a leading business consulting firm.
Elite women’s sports will generate more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024, the first time they’ve passed this milestone, the report predicts. Deloitte’s definition of elite sports includes professional leagues worldwide along with the top levels of amateur sports, such as NCAA Division I competitions and the Olympics.
The exact total that Deloitte forecasts is $1.28 billion, up 300 percent from the company’s previous prediction in 2021. The sources of this revenue are commercial funding, including , “club sponsorship and partnership arrangements; central sponsorship revenue, retail, and merchandising sales; licensing; and all other non-matchday or broadcast revenues,” according to the report, broadcast income, and “matchday” dollars — ticket sales.
The report doesn’t address controversies over trans and nonbinary athletes, a very few of whom are competing at elite levels, but makes clear the overall appeal of women’s sports. “In 2024, women’s elite sports should continue to bask in the multi-faceted success of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which generated more than US$570 million in revenue,” the report says. “Women’s elite sport is developing swiftly in stature, but is also still nascent, with many of the major leagues only established in the last decade, and many territories yet to establish a mainstream culture around women’s elite sports.”
Deloitte points out many reasons for the appeal of women’s sports. “Women’s elite sports’ modest ticket prices make it an affordable experience for families and widens the age mix at games,” the report notes. In addition, “the increasing use of major stadiums to host matches will allow more fans to experience women’s elite sport firsthand, leading to increased attendance and in turn, greater matchday revenue,” it continues.
Sponsorship, the report says, provides a healthy return on investment as well as intangible benefits. “Sponsors of women’s sports organizations and athletes are often attracted by the chance to associate their brands with themes of female strength, empowerment, and gender parity, among other factors,” it says. Viewership of women’s sports events is growing, hence the prediction for a rise in broadcast revenues, Deloitte adds.
Women’s elite sports still generate much less revenue than men’s, NBC News reports. “For example, the NFL's Sunday Ticket package — representing just one sport in one country on one platform — was recently sold to YouTube for $14 billion over seven years,” NBC notes.
But interest in women’s sports is definitely on the rise. “The total number is interesting, the fact it’s over $1 billion for the first time — but I think the 300 percent number is the real story,” Pete Giorgio, who heads Deloitte’s global and U.S. sports practice, told NBC. “I’d love that number to be a lot bigger, and I think it’s going to continue to grow.”
Sports are indeed a source and symbol of female empowerment, Anne Blaschke, a lecturer in women’s studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, told NBC. “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,” she said. “Sports is very public and very exciting, and we get to see people doing things that are remarkable, that very few other human beings can do.”
Women’s sports don’t have to mimic men’s sports to be successful, the Deloitte report concludes. “Women’s elite sport should be developed as a product distinct from men’s elite sport,” it says. “Women’s sports should not simply duplicate men’s sports, but rather adapt and innovate to suit athletes and fans. In this nascent phase, women’s sports can test new technologies, activations, and partnerships. It can forge its own path.”
