2024 is going to be a record-breaking year for women's sports, at least according to a prediction by business consulting firm Deloitte.
The company released studies predicting the future of several different topics including AI, telecom, and media, and one of their predictions indicated is that it expects women's elite sports to generate about $1.28 billion in revenue in 2024.
That projection is at least 300% higher than what the firm had originally projected for women's sports when they wrote about the topic in 2021.
The sports that are expected to drive revenue are football and basketball, which will amount for about 71% of total revenue. Leagues and competitions like the FIFA Women's World Cup, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour are expected to account for about one-third of the total revenue.
Deloitte's forecast shows that the 55% will be driven by commercial revenue — which includes sponsorships for teams, leagues, competition, and athletes. It forecasts the renewal of sponsorships to increase similar to the deal between Barclays and the Women's Super League, the top English soccer league, which doubled to $37 million when it was renewed starting in 2022.
The firm also predicts that several companies may start to their budgets to women's sports due to its fast growth, similar to what fintech company Ally Financial did when it pledged to spend an equal paid media across men's and women's sports by 2027.
Broadcast is the second expected driver of the billion-dollar revenue milestone.
Overall sports are in the midst of finding a medium between the reach and accessibility of free broadcasting versus pay TV or direct-to-consumer services. Women's sports is no exception, but there is still an expectation that upcoming broadcasting rights renewals will increase.
One example in 2024 is the NCAA March Madness women's tournament. After the craze surrounding Iowa's Caitlin Clark and LSU's Angel Reese that saw the championship game average nearly 10 million viewers, the tournament is expected to be around $100 million, according to a report by Front Office Sports. This would be nearly three times of its current deal, and that's considering that the tournament is currently tied together with 29 other women's sports championships.
Related: Pablo Torre is upending the norms of sports media — and his parents — with his new show
The firm also said that the investment in women's sports teams should continue to grow which could drive up the valuation of some teams to over $100 million. Sports franchises across the board have seen values increase quickly, and there looks to be investor appetite in women's sports. Some examples include the recently announced WNBA expansion team in San Francisco which will be under the same ownership group as the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Deloitte's study concludes by providing recommendations for the sporting world at large on how to continue to capitalize on the growth of the league. These recommendations include developing women's elite sport as "distinct from men's elite sport," further developing the pipeline of talent of women at a young age, and for the media to continue to build the profile of female athletes.
Want to turbocharge your portfolio? Learn from the investing legends and get actionable insights. Start your Real Money Pro membership today.
