Source: Unsplash
A change is in the air. It’s been a long time coming, but recent displays by empowered female athletes such as 18-year-old Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open, have spurred a change in attitudes across the sports industry. Most notably, sports broadcasters have started to invest more heavily in women’s sports media rights. One of the latest instances is the FA’s Women’s Super League (WSL) signing a three-year broadcasting deal reportedly worth around $11 million per season.
The FA WSL kicked off on September 3rd with wins by Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Brighton. Marking its tenth year, the WSL signed a lucrative deal that'll see games broadcast live on subscription platform Sky Sports, which said it'll give the WSL the “full treatment,” meaning analysis before and after games. The matches will also be live on the BBC, opening the league up to a demographic that hasn't paid for a sports subscription package.
This accessibility to the WSL will boost ratings and increase the popularity of the league. At the same time, it will propel other industries forward, such as the online sports betting market. For decades, one of the most popular sports to bet on in the UK has been men’s football, mostly because the games are available to watch on multiple platforms.
This is evident from a quick browse, alone. The football betting market is laden with male-dominated sports: the landing pages for most sites, including, oddschecker football, are populated with seemingly unlimited options for outright and special bets on upcoming matches. For example, there's currently space for rivalry games like the upcoming Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal match on September 26th (Tottenham has odds of 2/1 to win), to mid-table games that typically don’t affect the top-four standings, like Crystal Palace vs Brighton on September 27th.
However, in and among the extensive coverage of the English Premier League odds, there's no mention of female teams and when there is, there's far fewer options to wager a bet on. With this recent development for the WSL, this could all be looking to change in the near future, given that the WSL will be reaching a record-breaking amount of new viewers and the betting markets will have to change considerably to accommodate prospective bettors.
And the records keep on coming ?
— Her Football Hub (@HerFootballHub) September 14, 2021
A record 1.5 million people tuned in to watch the opening weekend of WSL fixtures on BBC and Sky Sports
Incredible stats ? pic.twitter.com/jKuDauJysN
The takeaway is that no matter the game, people in the UK are betting on football odds. So, by showing the WSL on the BBC and Sky Sports, which is reportedly going to increase viewing figures by 300%, not only will the league see an increase in popularity, but the UK’s gambling economy is likely to reap some benefits too.
The WSL’s three-year deal is all part of a long-term plan to increase the popularity of the league and women’s football, but even before the broadcasting deal was announced, you could see this happening from a commercial perspective. For example, over the last few years, more value has been placed on the assets owned by women’s teams, such as their shirt sleeves. We recently saw West Ham United further its partnership with Trustly by naming the platform as its Women’s Sleeve Partner. Additionally, more women’s teams are signing exclusive deals, including Tottenham Hotspur, which recently had Herbalife become its official nutrition partner.
With all the projected success of the broadcasting deal, from increasing viewership and the number of gamblers betting on women’s football matches to the increased popularity of the Women’s Super League, we can expect more and more value to be placed on teams in the WSL.
