Ad spending on women’s sports more than doubled last year

Women’s sports enjoyed a marquee year across the board in 2024, but especially in television advertising, according to TV marketing firm EDO.

In a report released Tuesday, EDO found that TV advertisers spent $244 million on women’s sports in 2024, a year-over-year increase of 139%, with basketball receiving the most investment of any sport. That corresponded with a 131% year-over-year increase in women’s sports TV viewership, according to EDO’s estimates.

Ads during women’s sports programs were 40% more impactful than the average primetime advertisement, according to EDO, as measured by searches for brands after an ad aired.

Women’s sports is on track to become one of the most valuable areas for advertisers, said Laura Grover, senior vice president and head of client solutions at EDO.

“What really jumped out to me is that a lot of the brands that are really seeing gains are ones that have had a very minimal presence on TV in the past,” Grover said. “They’re leaning into these new opportunities in women’s sports, and they’re really paying off.”

The top-spending industries on women’s sports in 2024 were autos, pharmaceuticals, internet and telecommunications, financial services, and insurance, according to the report. The highest-spending brands were State Farm, AT&T, Allstate, Nike and AbbVie’s Skyrizi, while the most effective brands for engagement were Skims, Poppi, Oura, Fabletics and Bombas.

Overall, the most engaging women’s sports events for advertisers were college lacrosse (25% more effective than the average 2024 women’s sports program), the U.S. Open semifinals and finals (20% more effective), the NCAA Tournament for basketball (19% more effective), college gymnastics and the WNBA Finals (both 18% more effective than the overall category).

Although ad spending and viewership growth expanded across all women’s sports, basketball made notable strides with both programming and star power. The decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals was the most-watched Finals game in 25 years, and the league set a regular-season record for unique viewers in 2024.

According to EDO, ads that aired during the WNBA playoffs created 24% more engagement per person than the average primetime spot, and engagement rates for ads during the WNBA’s regular season, playoffs and finals all grew year over year.

As brand ambassadors, individual WNBA athletes also boosted advertisers. The most influential WNBA players in terms of ads were Cameron Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever. Ads that featured Brink, such as commercials for Skims and New Balance, were significantly more effective than the average WNBA ad, according to EDO.

Advertisements that were contextually relevant and featured female athletes performed especially well across the board. Commercials starring WNBA players during WNBA games were 103% more effective than ones that didn’t, the report said. In soccer, ads with National Women’s Soccer League players that aired during NWSL games were 39% more effective than ads without them.

“When you’re bringing in the talent and you’re present in an environment in an authentic way, which a lot of times is through contextual advertising, we tend to see that that is really impactful with audiences,” Grover said.

At the collegiate basketball level, EDO found that ads during the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament were 18% more effective than the average primetime ad. The tournament championship was the most-watched NCAA women’s college basketball game ever.

Restaurant chains lead the pack in engagement for the current college basketball season, with Marco’s Pizza, Restaurant Brands International’s Popeyes, Papa John’s and McDonald’s claiming four of the top five spots.

Current college basketball stars are also driving engagement with ads. Grover said State Farm’s ad featuring JuJu Watkins of USC has been 20% more impactful than the average State Farm commercial.

NCAA women’s gymnastics, lacrosse and volleyball also rose in popularity. Gymnastics and lacrosse both saw double-digit gains in ad engagement compared to 2023, while commercials during the 2024 volleyball championship were 250% more impactful than the average primetime ad.