We look forward to a world in which womens sports has a fully equal status with mens, in all respects. In the last few years, TV rights deals have risen in value and grown in scope. Revenue of the Big Five soccer leagues in Europe from 2011/12 to 2020/21, with a forecast to 2022/23, by country (in million euros) . Acquisitions are not the only source of money flowing into womens teams. The suit also states that from 2013 to 2016 women players earned $15,000 for making the national team while the men earned $55,000 in 2014 and $68,750 in 2018. But its promise of delivering value to sponsors, investors, fans, and athletes and teams themselves is becoming more and more clear. In comparison, the value of the rights for US mens basketball was US$2.6 billion as of 2019.33 But the values for womens sports are on a rising trajectory, with recent years seeing some notable gains (see sidebar, TV rights for womens sports are rising in value worldwide). One might argue that FIFA World Cups always generate strong viewership, but other womens football tournaments featuring national teams have also enjoyed rising ratings. Its a smart business decision for them to align themselves with a winning team that is highly visible, outspoken and likable. ", The @USWNT is #1 in the world & contributes higher revenues for @USSoccer than the mens team, but theyre still paid a fraction of what the men earn. The womens prize money is still only 14% of the mens.". Fauci: No reason to be wearing a mask., Federal aid for state and local governments through a proposed coronavirus relief bill would amount to half of what the Republicans put onto the national debt., Says Taylor Swift wants to remove the Statue of Liberty, Joe Biden and the Democrats want to prosecute Americans for going to church, but not for burning a church., Says the "only valid reason to oppose voter ID is that you plan to cheat," and "every Democrat in Congress opposes voter ID. The bottom line is that there is more money generated in the mens league. Not only are womens sports sponsorships a great value relative to those for mens events, but they are likely to appeal to female customers and staff members as a signal of commitment to positive changes in society. That followed a wage discrimination complaint in 2016 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Its goal is to increase the number of women playing football to 60 million by 2026.83. On this basis, the global womens sports industry (excluding mixed events),1 measured by the aggregate of TV rights, sponsorship, and matchday (live-event) revenues, is unlikely to qualify in 2021. The value of these deals is modest by comparison to mens sports, but it is rising. June 17, 2019 6:00 am ET. The Womens Twenty20 World Cup Cricket final, played in Melbourne on March 20, 2020, had a stadium audience of 86,614 fans, but it was televised on a secondary channel to avoid clashing with a news bulletin.23 And when Japans team won the football Womens World Cup in 2011, coverage of the game was obscured by a large number 7, a reminder to viewers of the number of days left to digital switchover.24. "This years final did about 20 times better than the mens World Cup final last summer, in the U.S." (The 2018 mens World Cup final pitted France vs. Angel City treats itself like a brand and markets women's soccer as a desirable event to attend, . Startup Atalanta Media also brought. In the eight FIFA World Cup tournaments held on the womens side, the U.S. womens team has won four and either came in second or third place in the others. Still, it's a tiny fraction of the $529 million in TV ads paid to ESPN during the men's 2014 World Cup on ESPN. When this happens, youll see more money pouring into womens soccer and the prize money will grow exponentially. The mens World Cup tournament generated over $6 billion in revenue for 2018. The safeguarding program is part of the FIFA Guardians initiative, announced following the 2019 Women's World Cup to ensure player safety. Throughout the 2019 tournament, too, individual playoff games generated significant audiences in terms of both absolute size and audience share. Joinhost Tanya Ott as she interviews influential voices discussing the businesstrends and challenges that matter most to your business today. All Rights Reserved. This story is fascinating and well worth a read to see how much attitudes have changed: Kathrineswitzer.com, . There is a big difference in the revenue available to pay the teams: . United States' forward Carli Lloyd (C), celebrates with teammates Mallory Pugh and Morgan Brian after scoring a goal during the France 2019 Women's World Cup Group F football match between USA and Chile, on June 16, 2019, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. In some cases, the ability for womens sports to thrive on a sustained basis has been artificially constrained. The prize pools are taken from the total revenue from the respective leagues. Prize money in womens sports is also going up, increasing the flow of cash into national teams. Lookingto stay on top of the latest news and trends? Indeed, the 2019 Womens World Cup final was more popular among US viewers than the mens final in 2018, with the womens game drawing 22% more audience.8. In the United States, the WNBA announced three Changemaker sponsors, each chosen for their commitment to driving positive change for the WNBA, womens sports, and women in society.64These inaugural Changemakers were AT&T, official marquee partner, and Deloitte, official professional services provider.65 The sponsorships entail marketing amplification and strategic collaboration as well as financial contribution.66, In Europe, PepsiCo signed a five-year deal to sponsor UEFA Womens Football. A friendly between the United States and England at Wembley attracted nearly 78,000 fans and sold out within 24 hours. Prior to his role with Deloitte Research, Paul was Director, Gartner Consulting, leading work in the telecommunications sector. For the women, there are various revenue streams. "It is legally and morally wrong.". The system is not set up that the men and women have access to the same pot of money and the men are given a larger helping. "And for me, it's just getting those people that are involved, particularly in the highest levels of our game all around the world, to see and understand the opportunity that sits in front of them. Kevin Westcott is a vice chair and leads the US Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice of Deloitte; as well as serves as the global Telecommunications, Media and Entertainment (TME) practice leader. (In 2021, of course, this recommendation applies only in markets where matchday gathering is possible.). The USSF sells broadcast and sponsorship rights for the men's and women's teams together, and as a result, it can be difficult to determine the exact broadcast value of the two teams. And this particular disparity is destined to continue. While marketing and sponsorships are sold as a bundle, there are anecdotal signs that the womens brand is surging in popularity. We wanted to take a closer look at the issue. In addition, womens matches are sometimes not shown on TV, or are relegated to secondary or online channels. ", USWNT lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation, filed March 8, 2019, Letter from U.S. The nascency of the market may make womens sports better value for money than the mens equivalents. The 2019 FIFA Womens World Cup USA-England semifinal match reinforces these statistics. We see a lopsided compensation structure, in which the men are paid considerably more than the women. Indeed, by the time of the next FIFA Womens World Cup in 2023, we expect all womens teams to have at least one sponsorship agreement distinct from the mens teams.56. It wasnt because I had a burning passion for the sport. In 2021, we predict women's sports revenues will be well under a billion dollarsa fraction of the global value of all sports (men's, women's, and mixed), which in 2018 reached US$481 billion, an increase of 45% over 2011. Deloittes TMT Predictions reports have historically required a base level of a billion dollars in revenue before an emerging industry would be considered for inclusion. Earnings for both men and women are governed by collective bargaining agreements, with a players eventual earnings affected by the number of games played and whether the team wins or loses. Rising rights values are enabling record transfer fees, with Danish footballer Pernille Harder joining Englands Chelsea F.C. U.S. women's soccer games have generated more revenue than U.S. men's games over the past three years. ", "The vast majority of Americans believe that climate change is real and we need to do something about it.". Women deserve equal pay for equal (or better!) "Specifically, we are committed to the concept of a revenue-sharing model to address the US Soccer Federation's 'market realities' and find a way towards fair compensation.". 33701 The resumption of elite sports will ideally embrace womens as well as mens sports. A comprehensive survey of women's soccer has found that 70% of women's soccer clubs internationally operate at a loss. "FIFA announced the prize money would be $440 million in 2020 in Qatar, and $60 million for the 2023 Womens World Cup," said Cheryl Cooky, a Purdue University professor of American studies who specializes in sports. The ocean is "flat" and "contained" by land features that jut up from a flat (not spherical) earth. Tennis, for which the prize money at Grand Slam events is the same for women as men, is arguably the best example. "Healthy pilots are suffering from myocarditis and dropping dead on flights because of the COVID-19 vaccines. Fortunately, the mass-market appeal of televised womens sports across a variety of sports is being repeatedly demonstrated, though coverage remains rare relative to that for mens sports. The average live audience per match, at 17.3 million viewers, was more than double the average 8.4 million viewers per game for the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup in Canada.9 Perhaps surprisingly, the majority (61%) of the viewers were men,10 illustrating womens soccers broad appeal. The mens World Cup tournament generated over $6 billion in revenue for 2018. Published by Statista Research Department , Dec 9, 2022. Soccer's global governing body surveyed 30 leagues and 282 . Elite sports revenues are founded on three main pillars: TV rights, event-day attendance, and sponsorships. The pandemic put the brakes on most sporting activities in 2020, and it was mens sports and its top leagues that resumed activity first. As per the data published by the United States Soccer Federation Inc, these revenues have been earned from events. Admittedly, the rights values for womens sports are still low. Sponsors should capitalize on their amazing opportunity in womens sports. Paul has published 32 columns in the Financial Times, specializing in analysis of current trends in the TMT sector from a numerical perspective. The first woman to run the Boston Marathon, the winning Japanese and US Womens World Cup teams from 2015 and 2019, and Lindsey Vonns four skiing World Cup championships are just a few of many fascinating stories, pivoting on a foundation of relentless challenge and striving for excellence. Indeed, tennis is the only sport in which female athletes were among the top 100 best-remunerated sports stars in 2019. Sports federations at both the global and national level should set targets for female representation on boards,just as has been the case in the general business world. For instance, the 1900 Olympics was the first with female participation, featuring 22 women out of 997 athletes; by 2012, both the United States and Canada Olympic teams included more women than men.5 It was not until 1967 that a woman first ran the Boston Marathon, 70 years after its establishment.6 Within a dozen years, the first woman to run a marathon in under 2 hours 30 minutes did so at the New York Marathon.7. Paul also leads the Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, now in its sixth year, which tracks usage of mobile around the world, based on a 53,000 user survey fielded in 31 countries. USWNT, USSF agree to mediation in gender-discrimination lawsuit after World Cup, Nike is selling a record number of USA women's soccer jerseys thanks to World Cup fever, The so-called 'wage gap' doesn't apply to the women's soccer team. "From 2016 to 2018, women's games generated about $50.8 million in revenue compared with $49.9 million for the men, according to U.S. soccer's audited financial statements. To date, womens football (soccer in the United States) has enjoyed the biggest TV audiences. Sports franchises should hire specialists to sell sponsorship rightsthey will have the experience and savvy to maximize value. 1 in the world, the economics portion of her tweet is more complex than the tweet suggests and the accuracy of her depiction depends on measurement tools that aren't noted in the tweet," said Michael McCann, a University of New Hampshire law professor who specializes in sports law. Its ability to generate substantial TV audiences, deliver value to sponsors, and draw tens of thousands of fans per event has been demonstrated on multiple occasions over the past decade. But womens teams should also make sure that they stand apart when it comes to negotiating sponsorships and TV rights so that that womens sports becomes valued in its own right, and becomes more investable as a result. However, its harder to say whether the women are ultimately paid less than the men, due to the lack of transparency and the complicated variables that feed into the compensation. The team subsequently ranked as the fourth-best team in England after just two seasons.80. Download the Deloitte Insights app, This is how COVID-19 is affecting the world of sports, The rise of womens sports: Identifying and maximizing the opportunity, The history of womens football in England, The real story of Kathrine Switzers 1967 Boston Marathon, US viewership of the 2019 Womens World Cup final was 22% higher than the 2018 mens final, FIFA Womens World Cup 2019 watched by more than 1 billion, Womens sport has now reached the sponsorship tipping point, World Cups and record-breaking viewing figures: Inside the BBCs summer of womens sport, Unbundling rights key to long-term financial success of womens footballDeloitte Sports Business Group, Challenge Cup opener on CBS is most-watched @NWSL match ever, Womens T20 World Cup becomes most watched womens cricket event ever, England are a TV ratings hit as record number watch Womens Rugby World Cup final, Why brands must rethink their approach to womens sports sponsorship, Sky Sports targets new audiences for womens sport in 2020, Huge MCG crowd turns up for World T20 final but anger at disgusting TV decision, The rise and stall of womens football in Japan, W.N.B.A. See something interesting? "If both teams lost all 20 games, the players would make the same amount," the Fact Checker calculated. Historically, these occasions have been infrequent. Player compensation is more complicated to calculate because many variables are involved and less information has been made public about the current compensation mechanism. With the 32 male teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia . In 2019, the average WNBA player earned US$116,000 per season; the new agreement raised the base salary to US$130,000 and created additional bonus and prize pools. Thats a difference of less than 2% in the womens favor. INSEP stands for Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance. In 2019, the womens US Open finals (featuring an American player) attracted an average viewership per game of 3.1 million, considerably more than the 2.8 million viewers who watched the mens final (without an American), which was the most-watched mens final since 2015.16 Across all Grand Slam tournaments in 2018, two of the womens finals had higher ratings in the United States than the mens. Lake, a sports-law specialist at the Lake Law Group in Denver. "The World Cup final in 2015 and this years final set records for U.S. viewership for a soccer game," said Ryan J. Womens sports has massive potential if its momentum can be maintained. The deal will run alongside PepsiCos sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League.67 PepsiCo will be a main partner of the UEFA Womens Champions League, the UEFA Women's EURO, the UEFA European Womens Under-19 and Under-17 Championships, and the UEFA Womens Futsal EURO.68, We also expect a growing number of womens teams to have multiple sponsors. 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Watt invest in PL-bound Burnley, Leicester, Everton draw in tight relegation battle, Sources: Wrexham rewarded with Vegas trip, Wolfsburg beat Arsenal to book UWCL final spot, Ordiales leaves Mexico sporting director post, Arrest made after fan wields chainsaw in stands, Sources: Slot rivals Nagelsmann for Spurs job, Leeds players 'sorry' after video of snubbing fans, Xavi backs City treble bid: Best team in the world, Liverpool, Tottenham put on a show as Klopp goes overboard, Bundesliga title twists, Haaland scores No. The National Women's Soccer League broke league ratings records by nearly 300% this year, with help from new deals with CBS Sports and Amazon's Twitch. 43-year-old used her life savings to open a bar that only plays women's sportsit brought in almost $1 million in 8 months. Participants were briefed about abuse and how to report it. Anfield, Liverpool FCs stadium, drew 23,500 fans to its local derby against Everton, the first-ever WSL match it had hosted.54 The United States WNBA recorded attendance of 1.33 million for the 2019 season, with the Los Angeles Sparks having the highest home-game attendancea total of 192,224 across all home games with an average of 11,307 fans per game. Simply link your email orsocial profile and select the newsletters and alerts that matter most to you. They are in a position to negotiate contracts that are not as restrictive as for many of the mens teams. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a presidential candidate, signed the letter and tweeted her support. So the women have the security of a guaranteed floor. "The United States National Soccer Team Players Association fully supports the efforts of the US Women's National Team Players to achieve equal pay," reads the statement. For womens sports to fulfill its potential, however, requires action by all interested parties: Broadcasters should continue to invest in womens sports. Innovation, transformation, and leadership occur in many ways. In the United Kingdom, the BBC reportedly paid 1012 million for the rights to the Womens Euro football competition in 2021 (now 2022) being hosted in England, up from the 1 million that Channel 4 reportedly paid for the 2017 edition.34, Also in the United Kingdom, where BT Sport and the BBC have a three-year deal with the Womens Super League (WSL) football franchise from 20182019 to 20202021, rights have been awarded on the basis of guaranteed coverage. U.S. Soccer is 100% committed to equal pay for our national team players. In 2019, these included: Barclays agreed to become the title sponsor of the FA WSL. The sponsorships, television rights, merchandise and other monies, which are generated for the prize money, is much greater for the mens team compared to the womens team. 50, FIFA flags Women's World Cup blackout in Europe, Man United in pole position for top four, but can't take their eyes off Liverpool, Transfer Talk: Manchester United see Lautaro Martinez as a striker option, The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, When goal celebrations go bad: Liverpool boss Klopp pulls hamstring, Liga MX review: Dominant Monterrey clinch top playoff seed ahead of America, Chivas, How Premier League clubs can qualify for Europe this season, Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.), NWSL needs higher attendance to make money: how to do it, recent investigation found systemic abuse and misconduct in the National Women's Soccer League. It's not anecdotal anymore. In the midst of all the frustration over the financial remuneration, some basic facts are left out of the discussion. In the midst of all the frustration over the financial remuneration, some basic facts are left out of the discussion. The 2019 FIFA Womens World Cup awarded a total of US$30 million in prizes, with US$4 million going to the winning team; the 2023 tournament is expected to award more than twice as much, with over US$60 million on offer.81 While these amounts are small relative to the winnings garnered by mens teams, growth in womens teams awards are outpacing those of their male counterparts. The women's team got a higher percentage with 13 percent, but the bottom line was . This pattern marked a reversal from prior years: In 2014 and 2015, the mens team earned $8.31 million and $11.71 million more than the womens team, respectively. Eleven also recently acquired rights to the Belgian Pro League on a five-year deal.28, DAZN, a sport video-on-demand service, acquired the rights to show 26 games from the FIFA 2019 Womens World Cupsall of those featuring the German teamto its German subscribers.29, Besides game coverage, more sports content with female protagonists or subjects is being created. When they calculated the same 20-game scenario as the lawsuit did for the old agreement, they found that a womens team player would now earn "$28,333 less, or about 89 percent of the compensation of a similarly situated mens team player.". "Woman's football is on a growth trajectory unlike any other sport in this world. In 2018, Visa signed a seven-year deal to become the first-ever sponsor of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) womens football, becoming the main partner of flagship events such as the UEFA Womens Champions League and the UEFA Womens European Championship.57 Also in 2018, financial advisory company Vitality was named sponsor of the 2019 Netball World Cup as part of an three-year extension to an existing sponsorship deal.58 In July 2018, Stanley Black & Decker became the Catalan football team FC Barcelona Femens first shirt sponsor. Women in September 2020 for a record fee.43. The American squad beat the Netherlands . For personalized content and settings, go to you My Deloitte Dashboard. Change takes time, and it may take a decade, or even a generation, for womens sports to attain its full potential. Specifically, from 2016-18, the women's team brought in $50.8 million in revenue, while the men's team brought in $49.9 million. https://t.co/ftOSrjRyOE. There are also at least 22 players who are allocated to National Women's Soccer . For instance, an analysis of 250,000 news articles in more than 80 languages found that womens tennis grand slam events received 41% less coverage than the mens events.22 This may slow womens tenniss momentum, as greater awareness would likely increase viewing yet further. Yet in Iowa, there are just 64 public mental health care beds. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The fan interest is there: A recent multicountry study found that 66% of people were interested in at least one womens sport, and among sports fans (of whom 49% are female), that figure rises to 84%.3 And the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed fundamental reappraisals of many aspects of society, one of which is how womens sports should be perceived, promoted, and commercialized. While COVID-19 impacted club revenue in the prior . That's according to audited financial statements from the U.S. Soccer. As one retail leader characterized this industrys historical approach: I think for a long time, athletic brands said, We can just shrink it and pink it and that will be good enough for the female consumers.85 Interestingly, considering its smaller market, womens sports apparel has shown considerable innovation in recent years with the growth of athleisure, which has been designed predominantly for women. Further, womens teams should capitalize on the additional flexibility they have on building digital presence and relationships with fans. I write actionable interview, career and salary advice. Boots signed a three-year deal to sponsor the womens national football teams of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.61, Westfield extended its sponsorship of the Matildas, the Australian womens national football team, and the W-League, the premier league for womens football in Australia, by two additional years.62, Iberdrola, a Spanish energy company, extended its sponsorship of Spains womens football league for a further six years.63, Still more major sponsorships have been announced in 2020. For example, Real Madrids womens squad will include youth teams from the Under-16 to Under-19 age groups. Joe Biden was older on his first day as president than Ronald Reagan was on his last day.. Ltd. and part of the UK TMT Insight team. 801 3rd St. S In addition, Nike has announced that womens jersey sales are setting records for either men or women. Video content creators should consider the value of female athletes stories. Contracted players have a base pay of $100,000 per year. The sponsorships, television rights, merchandise and other monies, which are generated for the prize money, is much greater for the mens team compared to the womens team. In 2016, the. As well as strong TV ratings, womens sports events are also generating strong event-day attendance levels, with records being broken only to be broken again a few months later. Are U.S. womens soccer players really earning less than men? stated on August 8, 2020 press briefing in Bedminster, N.J.: stated on July 29, 2020 a press conference: stated on July 14, 2020 White House Rose Garden: stated on June 28, 2020 ABC News This Week: stated on June 23, 2020 Facebook on June 23: stated on June 20, 2020 a campaign rally: stated on April 29, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on April 10, 2023 in a town hall in Salix, Iowa: stated on April 30, 2023 in a roundtable on ABC's "This Week": stated on April 24, 2023 in una publicacin en Facebook: stated on March 1, 2023 in a social media post: stated on April 23, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on April 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on April 16, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on April 20, 2023 in an Instagram post: All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, U.S. Womens Soccer Games Outearned Mens Games, Goal reached: US womens soccer team gets new contract, Pay Disparity in U.S. Soccer? However, COVID-19 has introduced some headwinds. In this image, King competes in the March 1983 Virginia Slims Championships held . El nuevo WhatsApp de 2023 permite ver con quin estn hablando tus contactos en vivo. This number set a viewership record for a female football match and made the game the United Kingdoms most-watched program in 2019 at that point in the year.11 For its part, the United States contributed 7.4 million more viewers to the same game despite it being broadcast live on a weekday afternoon in US time zones.12 Adding in online streaming viewers, the games total US audience peaked at 20 million, making it the most-watched womens soccer game in the United States since the prior Womens World Cup final in 2015, which attracted 25.4 million viewers (boosted by being shown in the evening slot).13 To put this into perspective, neither the mens National Basketball Association (NBA) nor the National Hockey League (NHL) finals in 2015 had that many viewers in the United States market. Most of the pay for the U.S. women's soccer team, which won its fourth World Cup in . He is a frequent speaker at industry and closed door conferences and was on the organizing committees of the Royal Television Societys Cambridge and London conferences. This additional coverage includes the Womens Six Nations rugby, the WNBA, the Netball Superleague, and womens cricket.27, Eleven Sports has set up a new Eleven Women division with a remit to acquire rights to womens sports globally. Says Joe Biden plans to mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices and all new buildings by 2030. In October 2018, FIFA announced that it was doubling total prize money at the Women's World Cup from $15 million to $30 million. For the 2018 mens World Cup, the prize money was $400 million, compared to $30 million for the Womens World Cup in 2019. We know it, we feel it," she said. PolitiFact was unable to obtain a copy of the current bargaining agreement, which has not been released publicly. Several experts said the reality may be murkier than a shouted catchphrase can capture. Suhas Raviprakash is a senior analyst at Deloitte Support Services India Pvt. Tennis legend Billie Jean King founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973, and served as its first president. "Thats because the men earn a $5,000 bonus when they lose and the women have a $100,000 base salary.". Weeks after the team filed the lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, 35 senators called for equitable pay for the team in a letter to U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro.