Co-authored by PubMatic and The Sports Innovation Lab’s Women’s Sports Club
As live sports transition to a more digital environment, women’s sports are reaping the benefits and experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity and viewership, and as they should. The partnership between PubMatic and the Sports Innovation Lab’s Women’s Sports Club is at the forefront of this inevitable ascent, leveraging programmatic advertising to unlock new revenue streams, elevate brand engagement, and capitalize on the growing halo effect of sports content across digital platforms.
The Rise of Women’s Sports
Women’s sports have long been undervalued, but the tide is turning. The 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship drew an impressive 18.9 million viewers, outperforming the men’s final. Meanwhile, the WNBA set a new record with 54 million viewers in the 2024 season, marking a 170% increase in average viewers per game compared to 2023. This surge in popularity presents a unique opportunity for advertisers to connect with not only a growing audience but a fervently passionate one.
Activating programmatic advertising against Sports Innovation Lab’s addressable audiences is a perfect solution for reaching these dedicated fans. By implementing curated campaigns fueled by fan intelligence and deterministic data during live games, highlight reels, and sports-related content, brands can tap into the emotional resonance of these moments. For example, streaming platforms have become essential for women’s sports fans, with over 57% of NCAA women’s basketball fans watching games on streaming services. Notably, 27% of all total sports consumption time now comes from streaming, further underscoring the shift toward digital-first viewing habits.
All Sports, Viewing Time By Platform, US
Source: Magna Global’s “Time with Media 3Q24: Sports”
The Halo Effect: Beyond the Game
The halo effect in sports advertising is particularly pronounced in women’s sports. Fans’ emotional connection to live events often extends to brands associated with those moments. For instance:
Emotional Resonance: Ads placed during thrilling plays or alongside highlight reels see higher recall and engagement rates.
Cross-Platform Impact: Streaming platforms and FAST channels have seen significant growth in sports viewership, with connected TV (CTV) usage up 30% in 2024 alone.
Consumer Trust: Brands that align with trusted sports content often enjoy elevated consumer perception and loyalty.
Jennifer Pelino, Chief Commercial Officer and President, Data Cloud at Sports Innovation Lab, emphasizes this potential:
“Live sports are more than just events—they’re cultural moments that bring people together. Our partnership with PubMatic ensures that advertisers can seamlessly use the most intelligent sports audience data to meaningfully enhance their advertising strategies, reaching fans at their most engaged moments—especially in women’s sports, where the audience and passion is growing exponentially. The potential for more powerful business outcomes is significant.”
Why Programmatic Advertising Matters for Women’s Sports
Programmatic technology offers a distinct edge for advertising in women’s sports by addressing key challenges:
Agility in a Fluctuating Environment: Live sports viewership can spike unpredictably during pivotal moments. Programmatic platforms allow advertisers to bid nimbly and scale campaigns in real time.
Premium Inventory Access: PubMatic provides access to live game content, replays, and shoulder programming across premium networks—ensuring brands are visible at every touchpoint, from NCAA championships to WNBA games.
Data-Driven Insights: Advertisers can measure performance instantly and refine strategies on the fly, maximizing ROI while maintaining frequency caps for optimal user experience.
Capitalizing on the Growth of Women’s Sports
The Women’s Sports Club has been instrumental in driving media investment into women’s sports by fostering partnerships with forward-thinking brands like Ally Financial, Allstate, and Google. This collaborative effort is crucial for elevating women’s sports and providing advertisers with a platform to reach a diverse audience.
Recent data from Sports Innovation Lab highlights the tremendous growth and potential in women’s sports advertising:
- The average brand spend in women’s sports as a percent of the total 2024 sports media budget is 20%, up 120% from 2023
- 82% of brands plan to increase their spend on women’s sports in 2025
- One-third of brands plan to increase their women’s sports media spend by more than 10% in 2025, up from one-tenth of brands in 2023
- On average, brands plan to reallocate 7% of total sports media spend from men’s to women’s sports in 2025
These statistics underscore the growing recognition of women’s sports as a valuable advertising platform. By leveraging Sports Innovation Lab Audiences, advertisers can tap into this burgeoning market with precision and effectiveness.
Looking Ahead
As live sports viewership continues shifting toward digital platforms, programmatic advertising stands out as a critical tool for engaging fans where they are most active—whether during a buzzer-beater moment or while scrolling through post-game highlights on social media.
By combining PubMatic’s programmatic expertise with the Sports Innovation Lab’s Women’s Sports Club’s commitment to advancing women’s sports, this partnership is paving the way for advertisers to score big with one of the fastest-growing segments in media. Learn more about how this partnership can supercharge your campaign here: www.pubmatic.com/live-sports.
