Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) is blocked from behind by New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) in the third quarter during game five of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images/ File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major gains in television viewing and attendance at women's sports in 2024 will give way to expansion in 2025 as start-ups and established leagues alike look to take advantage of the surging interest, industry leaders and experts say.
North America's top-flight National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) both saw record viewing figures, while fans in the United Kingdom devoted more time than ever to watching the Women's Super League (WSL) and television ratings soared for Women's Premier League cricket in its second season.
Deep-pocketed investors took notice, and growth will be the theme for 2025 as the WNBA welcomes its first new franchise since 2008 when the Golden State Valkyries begin play next year.
The WNBA, which is also preparing for two more teams in 2026 in Portland and Toronto, had its most-watched regular season with 1.2 million average viewers on ESPN, according to the broadcaster, while an average of 1.6 million watched the Finals, the biggest audience in 25 years.
The league had enjoyed steady growth in recent years but the surge was helped along by a compelling rookie class led by Caitlin Clark, whose record-smashing collegiate career was a watershed moment for women's sport in the United States.
Clark will hope her extraordinary star power will help in her joint bid to bring an NWSL team to Cincinnati, as the women's soccer league considers three contenders, including Denver and Cleveland, for an fresh expansion franchise.
The league saw average viewership of 967,900 for this year's championship, up 18% from 2023, the NWSL said, and is preparing to expand to 15 members when a Boston team joins in 2026.
The value of NWSL and WNBA teams is expected to grow by at least $1.6 billion over the next three years, according to research released late last month by The Collective, sports and entertainment agency Wasserman's women's division.
"The women’s sports industry is an incredibly valuable and rapidly growing sector," The Collective Managing Director Thayer Lavielle said in a statement.
"WNBA and NWSL teams are leading the charge but this growth is not limited to these leagues — it's about the growth of the entire women’s sports ecosystem."
A PwC survey this year of more than 400 industry leaders showed 85% expected double-digit growth for women's sports revenues in the next three to five years, with soccer, basketball and rugby in particular getting a boost from major events.
The climate has been appealing for new outfits too, as Premier Lacrosse League last month announced a women's league that will debut next year, and the six-team Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) plans to kick off in 2026.
The WPBL was approached by dozens of potential owners in the week after they announced their launch in October, according to Keith Stein, co-founder of the league with pioneer Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach a professional men’s baseball team.
"Over 40% of Major League Baseball fans are women and women's professional sports -- even women's collegiate sports -- have never been more recognized by the public than today," Siegal told Reuters.
"It's a perfect time to take a game that women have been loving for centuries and give them a chance not just to play but also be in leadership positions."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)
