The news: Women’s sports had a strong presence at Cannes Lions 2025 as advertiser interest grows. One Axios event featured X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Disney global ad chief Rita Ferro, and Olympian Ilona Maher, who all spoke on the value of women’s sports for brands. Ferro emphasized “triple digit” viewer growth in the last year, while Yaccarino said sports is a way to access highly engaged consumers and fandoms. Maher attributed viewership gains in part to prominent athletes like Caitlin Clark.
By the numbers: Women’s sports has surged in recent months, reaching new milestones in 2024, per research from the charity Women’s Sport Trust.
- Leagues like the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) grew significantly across social media in the 2024 season, reaching a single-season record of nearly 2 billion video views across WNBA social media platforms—more than quadruple the previous season. Monthly active users grew 252% YoY on the WNBA app, while TikTok views grew 250% to reach 361 million.
- The report cited SportsPro findings that female athletes accounted for 61% of all TikTok views among the 50 most-marketable athletes.
- Women led in content volume across platforms, representing 51% of total content posted by athletes on Instagram and 80% on TikTok. Engagement was different—male athletes represented 90% of engagement/views on Instagram, though women maintained a lead on TikTok, accounting for 61% of engagement/views.
- Women’s sports content is particularly effective at reaching female audiences. Across the board, the female proportion of YouTube audiences for women’s sports channels was higher than male equivalents, regardless of sport.
Zooming out: Women’s sports has consistently maintained momentum and proven to be a key opportunity for advertisers.
- Ads during women’s sports events have a 40% greater impact on consumer engagement than the average primetime TV ad airing, marking a 56% YoY jump, per an EDO report. The report also found that investment in women’s sports rose 139% YoY in 2024, reaching $244 million.