Weekly Newsletter 2/22
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INNOVATION IN ACTION
A MASSIVE STEP FORWARD IN THE BATTLE FOR EQUAL PAY
U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) have reached a settlement in the Equal Pay Lawsuit. The players will receive $24M, and USSF has promised to equalize pay between the men's and women's national teams for all competitions, including the World Cup. The agreement also sets up a fund that will help promote girls' youth soccer and grassroots programs that can continue to grow the game of women's soccer. This is a huge step for women's sports and women's soccer in particular, but it is another example of the continued investment and momentum of the entire women's sports industry.
Sports Innovation Lab Events
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES WITH
LAURA GENTILE OF ESPN
On this episode of the Fluid Fan Podcast, Laura Gentile, EVP Marketing at ESPN and Commercial Marketing for Disney Media Networks joined Angela Ruggiero to talk all things marketing and sports. Laura has over two decades of experience working in sports, was an All-American field hockey player in college, founded the espnW platform, and now oversees all of the social media and marketing strategies for Disney Networks and ESPN. Hear how Laura is navigating the digital media age, and creating innovative marketing strategies across numerous channels and platforms. Catch all that and more when you tune in on iTunes, Spotify, or watch the episode on YouTube.
The Fan Project Spotlight
IF YOU AIR IT THEY WILL WATCH
Team Canada secured its fifth women's Olympic Gold last week with a 3-2 win over rival Team USA. Even with a start time of 11:10 pm ET, NBC said over 3.5 million people tuned in to watch the Gold Medal game. According to the network, it was the most-watched hockey game of any kind in the U.S. since the start of the 2019-20 NHL season. After the game, players from both countries stressed how important it is for the sport of women's hockey to capitalize on the momentum of the game. Currently, there are multiple professional women's hockey platforms and they all are hoping the visibility of the Olympics will carry throughout the upcoming years without the global stage. Clearly, the numbers show the audience is out there, but the market needs to provide more viewership opportunities. If you want to be a part of our continued push to empower and build investment into the women's sports market while making your company better, then visit our website or thefanproject.co to find out how you can work with us.