The Business Case For Women's Sports

In episode #170 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Rachel Goodger, Chief Revenue Officer, and Katherine Rowe, VP of Client Strategy & Insights at CrowdIQ, which is a data intelligence company using computer vision to analyze who’s in the stands at sporting events. 

The CrowdIQ team recently released a groundbreaking new report titled, “Quantifying Female Sports Fans” that reveals just how powerful and distinct female sports fans truly are.

In this episode, Rachel & Katherine share:

• 📈 What 300,000 fan data points reveal about how women engage with sports in-venue.
• 💡 Why female fans spend 5x more than the average sports fan – and what that means for teams, venues and sponsors.
• 👟 How women’s sports crowds are now 60% female, while men’s sports are trending toward a 50/50 gender split among younger fans.
• 💰 Where the biggest sponsorship and merch opportunities lie among female fans.

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In episode #169 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline welcomes Sara Pollack, the Vice President and Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Pinterest.

For the first time ever, Pinterest stepped into the sports arena as an official partner of the New York Liberty.

After seeing the massive surge in searches related to the Liberty and the WNBA on their platform, Pinterest knew the Liberty would be the perfect partner to launch their first sports collaboration.

Today, the Liberty and Pinterest are working together to celebrate women’s sports through exclusive content, in-game activations, and community outreach that reflect the energy of New York and its iconic team.

In this episode, Sara shares:

• 📈 Why Pinterest chose the Liberty for its first sports partnership.
• 📊 The surging interest in the Liberty and WNBA on Pinterest (searches for “WNBA aesthetic” are up +1,295%).
• 💡Why Pinterest sees women’s sports as a powerful cultural force shaping the future of fandom.

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In episode #168 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline welcomes back Kate Veronneau, Director of Women’s Strategy at Zwift and one of the driving forces behind the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Since her first appearance on the podcast in 2023, Kate has helped shepherd the race into a new era. 

Backed by Zwift’s bold investment and mission-driven strategy, the Tour de France Femmes has become one of the fastest-growing properties in global sport – with the 2025 edition of the race breaking records for attendance, engagement, and viewership.

In this episode, Kate shares:

• 🚴‍♀️ The phenomenal growth of the Tour de France Femmes, including record-breaking crowds and TV audiences.
• 📺 Why visibility and global broadcast accessibility are fueling women’s cycling fandom and participation. 
• 📊 Data from Zwift’s impact report proving the race is inspiring women worldwide to ride and invest in the sport.

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In episode #167 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Allie Kleva, Chief Growth Officer at Athletes Unlimited.

Allie has played a leading role in the launch of the brand-new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) and helping to create a sustainable professional women’s softball league in the U.S. 

Backed by powerful partners like ESPN and Major League Baseball, AUSL is building on softball’s rich tradition and thriving college fandom to create a new professional pathway for athletes.

In this episode, Allie shares:

• ⚡️The origin story of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
• 🥎 How AUSL delivered 20 sellouts, $1M+ in merch sales, and 150K average viewers in its inaugural season.
• 🤝 The significance of Major League Baseball’s historic eight-figure investment in AUSL.
• 🚀 What’s ahead in Year 2 for AUSL.

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In episode #166 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Jordan Robinson – acclaimed women’s basketball journalist, analyst, reporter, and host of The Women’s Hoop Show and She’s Got Next on Audacy.

Jordan has built a dream career rooted in passion for women’s basketball storytelling.

Today, she’s at the forefront of women’s basketball media, championing greater visibility for athletes, pushing for deeper coverage, and proving why investing in women’s sports is both powerful and good business.

In this episode, Jordan shares:

• ⚡️How she built her career covering women’s basketball across multiple platforms.
• 🏀 Why now is a transformative moment for women’s basketball & women’s sports at large.
• 📰 The urgent need for daily women’s basketball media & diverse storytelling.
• 💰 Why more money is critical for the growth of women’s sports.

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In episode #165 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Jillian Hiscock, the founder of A Bar of Their Own in Minneapolis, which is one of the first dedicated women’s sports bars in the world. 

Since opening in 2024, “A Bar of Their Own” has become a hub for the women’s sports community in Minnesota and a fixture of the growing global movement of women’s sports bars. 

In this episode, Jillian shares:

• 💡The “aha moment” that inspired her to open the bar.
• 💪How she built a thriving women’s sports business from scratch.
• ❤️Why collaboration is at the heart of the women’s sports bar movement.
• ⚡️How Minnesota is becoming a national hub for women’s sports.

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In episode #164 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Meg Rushton, the first-ever Chief Communications Officer at the Women’s Sports Foundation.

In its 51st year, the Women’s Sports Foundation is entering a new era, and Meg’s appointment signals a bold step forward. 

With decades of communications experience outside of the women’s sports industry, Meg brings a fresh perspective to the Foundation’s work to advance equity and opportunities for girls & women in sports.

In this episode, Meg shares:

• 🏆 Her journey into women’s sports & why now was the right time to join the industry.
• ⚡️ What her role as CCO entails and why storytelling is central to sustaining momentum in women’s sports.
• 💡 The key priorities on the horizon for the Women’s Sports Foundation.

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In episode #163 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Stephanie Marciano, Ally’s Head of Brand & Sports Marketing.

Since joining Ally in 2021, Steph has been at the forefront of building one of the most impactful sports marketing portfolios in the industry. 

From leading Ally’s 50/50 pledge, WNBA partnership, and investments across golf, soccer, basketball, and more, Ally has been a leader in the women’s sports movement and has helped catalyze incredible growth and investment across the industry. 

In this episode, Steph shares:

⚡️ Why Ally chose women’s sports as an anchor of its sports marketing strategy – and how the 50/50 pledge is reshaping the industry.

🏆 How Ally evaluates ROI and the business case for investing in women’s sports.

🔥 The story behind Ally’s new multi-year partnership with the WNBA.

💡 Advice to other brand leaders about why now is the time to invest in women’s sports.

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In episode #162 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Megan Oglesby, an investor and board member of WPSL Pro, which is a forthcoming sanctioned Division II women’s professional soccer league. 

The launch of WPSL Pro will mark the first time that the U.S. has a second-division women's pro league.

To date, fifteen teams have been confirmed by the league, helping to close the gap between women’s soccer opportunities at the collegiate and pro levels. 

In this episode, Megan shares the league’s plans and why now is the right time to build a sustainable, community-driven women’s soccer league that unlocks new markets for growth within women’s sports. 

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In episode #161 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Talia Raviv, the Global CEO of Publicis Media, and the leader of the team behind the newly launched, Women’s Sports Connect.

The Women’s Sports Connect is a groundbreaking new solution from Publicis Media & Publicis Sports helping brands invest in women’s sports at scale. 🚀

From media & content to sponsorships, NIL, and events, the Women’s Sports Connect program is helping to connect advertisers with opportunities to reach the women’s sports audience. 

In this episode, hear Caroline & Talia discuss how Publicis is solving the fragmentation problem when it comes to women’s sports media, unlocking real business outcomes for brands, and making sure women’s sports don’t get left on the sidelines.

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