The Fan Project Aims to Double Investment in Women’s Sports
February 12, 2021
A new program has launched with the goal of accelerating investment in, and increasing media coverage of, women’s sports. The Fan Project was created by market intelligence firm Sports Innovation Lab and is supported by major leagues and industry associations in North America, including the WWE, NWSL, WNBA, Positive Coaching Alliance, LPGA, UFC, Goal 5 and more.
The campaign highlights fan enthusiasm behind women’s sports and illustrates why investing in the women’s sports community is a good business decision. It also underscores that the more visible women’s sports are, the greater their power is to inspire the next generation.
“The same statistics around the high engagement and tremendous interest but lack of coverage and lagging investment in women’s sports continue to permeate the industry with zero impact,” said Sports Innovation Lab CEO and 4X Olympic Medalist Angela Ruggiero. “With The Fan Project we’ll be able to finally give those responsible for investing in broadcast rights and sponsorship of women’s sports data they simply can’t ignore.”
The Fan Project is asking all sports fans to download and share their social media archives, something that every Facebook and Twitter user has rights and access to as a result of GDPR legislation. Sports Innovation Lab believes these files hold the key to what sports fans watch, do and buy. By securely and anonymously analyzing the files, it can produce a report that credibly proves the business opportunity for women’s sports.
Ultimately, the more fans who show interest in women's sports, the more broadcast networks and big brands will spend money to support women's leagues and athletes. By downloading and submitting fans Facebook or Twitter information The Fan Project aims to prove the opportunity women's sports holds.
“We know we have the best soccer players in the world competing in the NWSL, and our fans are among the most engaged in sport,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “The Fan Project will help us understand the fan at an even deeper level and share the story of how valuable women’s sports are to the media and sponsors.”
The creators state that fans can feel confident that their data is anonymous and secure, as Sports Innovation Lab’s technology removes and deletes all personal information when the files are uploaded. Sports Innovation Lab, along with the participating leagues and partners, expect to have the data findings and report published this summer. They will use the findings as a catalyst and an industry call-to-action to increase women’s sports coverage to 10% in 10 months from the date of report publication.
“In 2015 our audience started a movement on social media using #GiveDivasAChance that trended worldwide for three days and hastened what WWE now calls the Women’s Evolution, creating equal opportunity for our female Superstars,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “The numbers and the sentiment from fans show there is a clear market for women’s sports, and it is up to brands, networks and media to invest and help move the industry forward.”