The Fan Project: How Women's Sports Will Lead The Sports Industry Into the Future (2021)

The first report from Sports Innovation Lab on the business potential of women’s sports released in 2021. The Fan Project used more than 10 million data points from anonymously submitted social media files -- enriched with 10 billion fan TV viewership data points, partner data from major leagues, brands, and media companies, and market research -- to illustrate the real numbers and behaviors behind women’s sports -- and how leading sports brands can invest differently to create breakthrough fan experiences using technology.

More details

Introducing the Community Based Monetization Model

Through our analysis, we can see a new Community-Based Monetization Model emerge. This report is a roadmap for executing on this model.

Exploring Always-On Fan Engagement

By examining the complete social media archives of hundreds of fans of women’s sports we can compare the number of conversations across WNBA and NBA to demonstrate the depth of fan engagement year round.

• Report At A Glance

  Pages: 20

  Data Sources:

  • Twitter and Facebook archives submitted directly from fans (zero party data)

  • + 10 Million social media data points

  • +10 Billion TV viewership data points from more than 3 Million households

  • Partner data and case studies (see thefanproject.co for list of partners)

  Charts: +25

  Key Topics: Fluid Fans, Most Valuable Fluid Fan Behaviors, Early Adopter Revenue, Evolution of Women’s Sports, Traditional Sports Business Models, Community Based Monetization Model, Co-Watching, Access to Athletes, Learning About Women’s Sports/Athletes, Women’s Sports Merchandise, Purpose-Driven Messaging, Viewership Trends, Women’s Sports Coverage, Fan Loyalty, Brand Sponsorship, Brand Engagement.

• Report Use Cases

  Move the conversation from women’s sports being a component of corporate social responsibility to women’s sports being a savvy business decision that can deliver a significant positive ROI.

  Provide investors with data, proof of market fit, and the trends critical to forecasting growth and scale.

  Understand the new and necessary business models, and evolution of traditional channels, in being successful with a women’s sports investment.

• Companies In This Report

  • WNBA

  • NBA

  • NWSL

  • USWNT

  • USOPC

  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Peacock

  • AMC

  • ESPN

  • The Athletic

  • Chase

  • Venmo

  • Spotify

  • Canva

  • Olympics

  • Paralympics

  • Women’s World Cup

  • World Cup

  • CVS

  • Coca-Cola

  • State Farm

  • Nike

  • Molson Coors

  • Pepsi

  • Miller Lite

  • LPGA

  • PGA

  • Visa

  • Budweiser

Receive a FREE copy of this report by completing the form below