2 Copyright2018 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. Confidential and proprietary. Do not distribute.3 CONTENTS This report is built around research conducted by Nielsen Sports across eight ofthe most commercially active sports markets – the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand (n=1000 per country) – as well as perspectives gleaned by Leaders during its XX Series think tanks, designed toencourage the continued growth of women's sport this year. It is an unparalleleddeep-dive into who’s engaging with women’s sports, how they’re watching andtheir attitudes toward sponsors who associate themselves with women’s sports. WHO’S ENGAGING WITH WOMEN’S SPORTSSPORTS FANS’ INTEREST LEVELS IN WOMEN’S SPORTSTHE POTENTIAL FAN BASECONSUMING WOMEN’S SPORTS THE APPETITE FOR WOMEN’S SPORTS CONTENT THE POWER OF FEMALE ATHLETESINTEREST IN SPECIFIC WOMEN’S SPORTS EVENTSCHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SPORTWORLD SURF LEAGUE: RIDING THE CREST OF A WAVETHE BIGGER PICTURE 5 7 8 9 12 19 22 14 29 254 The rate of change in women’s sports is one of the most exciting trends in the sportsindustry right now. For rights holders, brands and the media, this represents a chanceto develop a new commercial proposition and engage fans in a diferent way. Tennis and golf have led the way in the professionalization and commercializationof women’s sports, but more recently it it has been soccer achieving signifcant mile- stones. There is an increasing number professional leagues around the world, andthe UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 attracted a TV audience of 150 million. In May we sawa new world record attendance for a women’s club soccer game, when 51,211 at- tended the fnale of the 16-team Liga MX Femenil. In England, 1.6 million watched theWomen’s FA Cup fnal clash between Chelsea and Arsenal, with 43,423 spectators inthe stadium. Building on this momentum, next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup is setto engage on a large scale and represents a great platform for brands to stand out. In other sports, trek cycling is the latest organization to commit to running a profes- sional women’s road team, and in Australia women’s leagues such as the Rebel Wom- en’s Big Bash and the Women’s Australian Rules Football league, known as AFLW, areattracting large audiences, stand-alone sponsorships and broadcast revenue. Indi- vidual female athletes becoming stars is nothing new, and we see this especially inthe U.S., where the likes of Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Ronda Rousey and LindseyVonn are not only household names around the globe, they are pushing boundariesand paving the way for generations to come. This building commercial momentum is resulting in groundbreaking equal pay agree- ments. In Norway and New Zealand, women’s national team footballers now earnthe same as their male counterparts, while Rugby Australia announced it will payits men’s and women’s sevens teams equally for the frst time. Furthermore, theseathletes feel they are privileged to compete in the sport they love as a career andgenuinely want to inspire, and make a diference for, the next generation. Making sense of an exciting and growing marketplace is fundamental for rights hold- ers, brands and other stakeholders currently operating in – or looking to enter – thespace. We believe there has previously been a lack of data around women’s sports,so I’m excited to share these insights as a starting point to forming a detailed under- standing of the women’s sports commercial landscape. INTRODUCTION WOMEN IN SPORTSLynsey Douglas Global Lead, Women’s SportsNielsen Sports “MAKING SENSE OF AN EXCITING AND GROWINGMARKETPLACE IS FUNDAMENTAL FOR RIGHTSHOLDERS, BRANDS ANDOTHER STAKEHOLDERSCURRENTLY OPERATING IN –OR LOOKING TO ENTER – THEWOMEN’S SPORTS SPACE.” 。。。。。。