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In April 2024, the Iowa vs. UConn Final Four match became the most-watched basketball game in ESPN history, peaking at 17 million views. Just a month earlier, MVP Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes broke the all-time NCAA scoring record, surpassing a whopping 3,685 points.
In June of 2024, the Australia Matildas women’s soccer team cruised to a 2-0 victory against the People’s Republic of China in front of an audience of nearly 77,000. The international soccer match held in Sydney, Australia became one of the most viewed women’s sporting events of all time—both online and in person.
In August 2024, standout athlete Simone Biles secured the gold medal for All-Around artistic gymnastics at the Paris Olympics, becoming the most decorated gymnast of all time. Biles drew in millions of viewers and fans, becoming one of the most searched Olympians of 2024.
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In August 2024, the United States women’s national soccer team faced off against Germany in the Olympic semi-finals with over 737,000 viewers watching from across the world. These unparalleled viewership numbers made this soccer match the most-watched game of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the highest-rated Olympic soccer match of all time.
Deloitte predicts that in 2024—for the first time—women’s elite sports will break the billion-dollar barrier, generating revenue that surpasses $1 billion—a 300% increase compared to 2021.
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2024 was a deservedly monumental year for women’s sports with dozens of records broken for attendance, investments, sponsorship deals, and other various categories, including higher average viewership numbers than their male counterparts. According to a survey done by Parity, a sponsorship platform for female athletes, 73% of American people in 2024 are watching women’s sports (only 8% less than men) and 30% of men are watching more women’s sports in 2024 compared to 2023. Viewership has also skyrocketed in relation to the more widespread broadcasting and coverage of women’s sports this year, with major sports channels like ESPN putting in million-dollar investments dedicated purely to women’s sports programming.
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Historically, female athletes and women’s sports have been underpaid and underfunded. However, 2024 has been a trailblazing year of rising parity in female athletes’ compensation and funding with notable growth and opportunities for athletes. The number of sponsorship deals in women’s professional sports has increased by more than 22 percent, with major international companies like Nike and Gatorade increasingly collaborating with female athletes, providing them opportunities to showcase their sensational talents to a wider global audience.
Female athletes have always demonstrated exceptional skill and the world has finally acknowledged it. The investment, sponsorship, and visibility poured into women’s sports in 2024 has begun the spread of women’s sports to unreached audiences, leading to unprecedented and ongoing growth.
This 2024 “hit” will continue far into the future.
