Financial firm Deloitte predicts global revenues from women’s elite sport will exceed 1 billion pounds (US$1.27 billion) for the first time in 2024.
Rapidly increasing attendance and television viewership for various sports, coupled with lucrative commercial and broadcast deals, predicts global revenue to reach 1.28 billion, according to Deloitte’s TMT Predictions report (Technology, Media and Telecommunications). It is predicted to be USD.
Commercial revenue makes up 55% of that total, supported by broadcast contracts and match-day revenue.
Jennifer Haskell, insight lead in Deloitte’s sports business group, said: “We have written a forecast for his 2021 and the revenue generated from 2021 to date is up over 300%. There has been incredible growth over the past few years. I understand this.
“We’re seeing a lot of popularity in terms of viewership and attendance, which shows that investing in and supporting women’s sport is a great business decision. I think that’s what the dollar numbers say.”
This summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup final between Spain and England was watched by 75,784 people in Sydney, with the average attendance for the tournament around 31,000.
More than 86,000 people watched hosts Australia defeat India to win the 2019 Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, and last year’s Ashes saw many at English testing grounds such as Rosebridge and Trent Bridge. A crowd gathered.
Football’s Women’s Super League (WSL) announced a new governing body on November 28, which will also include the Women’s Championship, but matches are increasingly being played at men’s Premier League grounds, with Arsenal next Sunday’s We hope to fill the Emirates Stadium for the game against Chelsea.
In the United States, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) lead the way, with Deloitte forecasting that soccer will take the largest share at US$555 million, followed by basketball at US$354 million. . Next to tennis, the WTA Tour will compete on an equal footing with the men’s ATP Tour.
Haskell added: “Because women’s sport is still in its infancy, there is a ‘test and learn’ culture where we can try out certain matches in the main stadium, raise or lower ticket prices, and the match day environment is It’s going to get even better from now on.” It’s better because the data is there to show you what the fans want.
“Match day and broadcast” [income] It will continue to grow, but the biggest vehicle for women’s sports right now is commercials.
“Not only are we starting to see women-only commercial contracts, but their value is starting to become more apparent, with a proportion of club-wide contracts being attributed to women’s teams.
“This is a low-cost entry point, but the rewards can be very high, and there will also be opportunities for different sponsors to enter women’s sport because of demographics and marketing messages.”
Commercial expansion is not without risks, as the controversial proposal for a European Super League in men’s football and the oversaturation of the global cricket calendar demonstrate.
Women’s football is at the other end of the spectrum, with the qualification structure for the UEFA Women’s Champions League under scrutiny after the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus and Wolfsburg failed to qualify.
“I think one of the benefits is that women’s sports can learn from the mistakes of men’s sports, but because we’re so early in the cycle, we can change trajectory and be a little more nimble,” Haskell said.
“All women’s sports organizations are now looking at what governance structures need to be put in place to maintain financial sustainability as women’s sports continue to grow.
“Perhaps in the beginning that structure was created to imitate what the men’s teams were doing, but now women’s sport can carve its own path and its own structure as its own product. ”
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