July 2, 2025  |  SIGN UP

Michael Bürgi
SENIOR EDITOR, MEDIA BUYING AND PLANNING

A lot has already been written about the massive importance of sports in the media marketplace, but it's encouraging to see women's sports really getting closer to the equality they deserve.

Earlier this week, the WNBA announced it's expanding to 18 teams by 2030. A few years ago, the league was teetering on irrelevance, and now it's a hot commodity. As is the women's college basketball season, an essential ingredient in what is March Madness. In fact, University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley is said to have interviewed for the head coach position open at the NBA's New York Knicks – another practically unheard-of scenario just a year ago. She's not expected to get the job, but stranger things have happened.

In retrospect, the media companies that agreed to pay $2.2 billion for WNBA rights last year in an 11-year deal (which can be reevaluated after three years) seems like a bargain given the surge in ratings and ad revenue the league is bringing into Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon. 

Which women's sport is due next to take off? Whatever it is, I'll be rooting and watching. 

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