iHeartMedia has partnered with Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment to launch the Women’s Sports Audio Network. The free, ad-supported network will offer podcasts, daily sports updates, and athlete spotlights across iHeart’s broadcast and digital platforms.
The network will feature daily shows and commentary across a range of sports, featuring prominent figures like sports media personality Sarah Spain and WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes. More talent announcements are expected soon.
The iHeartSports network will also contribute by running dedicated women’s sports reports daily across its over 500 broadcast stations.
The launch of WSAN aligns with rising investment and viewership in women’s sports, which is poised to become a $1 billion industry this year, marking a 300% increase in just three years. Despite this growth, women’s sports receive only 15% of media coverage in the US
The Women’s Sports Audio Network aims to increase access to women athletes, their stories, and the conversations surrounding women’s sports, thereby amplifying the presence of both well-known and emerging female athletes to a national audience. This initiative follows a recent Deep Blue collaboration with Axios on a thought leadership event series focused on the business of women’s sports.
iHeartMedia Chief Marketing Officer Gayle Troberman said, “Women’s sports are on fire and so is audio. The timing is perfect to deliver on the massive fan excitement today and most importantly use the power of iHeart’s massive audience reach to ensure women’s sports gets the attention it deserves.”
Deep Blue Founder and CEO Laura Correnti commented, “While women’s sports continue to break ratings and attendance records on a seemingly regular basis – it’s imperative the media marketplace and commercial investment keep pace to not just meet consumer demand, but sustain this growth market.”
“By partnering with iHeartMedia, we’re unlocking the ability to immediately share more women’s sports stories with more fans while addressing the need for more discovery, visibility and scale – a common pain point for the advertising and media marketplace in this space. This partnership effectively moves the coverage of women’s sports from 15% to 90% overnight through the power of audio.”
