"Women's sports are not having a moment," Mollie Cahillane, a reporter at Sports Business Journal said Tuesday at TN50: The Business of Women's Sports Summit. "Everyone else is just now finally paying attention."
Why it matters: Reporters are now trying to use their platforms to tap into that attention and elevate athletes' stories and experiences to grow the game.
- For the first time in NCAA history, the women's basketball final had more views than the men's championship game this year, per data from Nielsen.
- "We've got to get these stories out and that's going to grow the market, it's going to grow the ticket sales and the merchandise sales," said Tina Cervasio, FOX 5 NY lead sports anchor.
- "I want to bring the personal level, where they've come from, their stories to our audience. And it's about the connection. To make them feel like she's she's one of our own," Cervasio said.
- The conversation was moderated by Axios' Sara Fischer.
The big picture: Media organizations are pouring money into covering women's sports to meet the moment, and reporters are working to make sure their stories get in front of the right audience.
- "Having such a big platform, I'm able to help other people who might not have seen that yet," Cahillane said.
Zoom in: Vinciane Ngomsi, a reporter and digital creator of Boardroom, said that having representation in coverage can also be a valuable way to broaden the interest and excitement around women's sports.
- "As someone that never really saw African representation growing up playing soccer, but also as a reporter, I think they really see the connection that we make," Ngomsi said at the event, which was produced by Axios and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment.
What to watch: Aaron West, an analyst at CBS Sports, said that the biggest example of strides made covering women's sports was how he's spoken more candidly about the game, similar to men's coverage.
- "Before, there wasn't that much space to to talk about it, so it was all positives," West said.
- "But now I get to critique the negatives I get to talk tactically, I get to talk stories. Everything holistically."
Go deeper: She's got game: Women's sports are booming
