Women’s professional sports are no longer a niche sponsorship afterthought. At a Brandweek 2026 session co-hosted with Scripps, sports executives, broadcasters and athletes made the case that the category is writing a new playbook for brand partnerships—one centred on access, identity and emotionally connected fans.
Storytelling is the most valuable media asset
Scripps Sports SVP of marketing Sherry Pitkofsky moderated the discussion and said that rising viewership alone will not sustain the moment. Audiences need regular entry points into athletes’ lives through shoulder programming, social content and community conversation. She used the phrase “consistent access” to describe what fans expect beyond a live game.
Sanya Richards-Ross, an Olympic gold medalist in track and field and host of Scripps Sports Network’s Beyond the Curve, pointed to the same shift. Female athletes are now getting the chance to tell their own stories in a way that previous generations were not. That narrative, she said, is what converts a curious viewer into a loyal fan.
Award-winning sports broadcaster Suzy Kolber reinforced the point. For Kolber, women’s sports should not be marketed as “a different version of men’s sports.” It has its own identity, its own emotional pull and its own storytelling language. Her upcoming Scripps Sports Network series will focus on athletes who follow unconventional paths and build success on their own terms.
Why the PWHL structure catches attention
Brands often struggle with fragmented rights, local approvals and slow activation. Amy Scheer, EVP of business operations at the Professional Women’s Hockey League, explained that the PWHL’s single-entity structure removes some of that friction. Because the league controls all 12 teams and league-level decisions, partners can brainstorm more freely. Fewer guardrails, she said, makes partnership conversations more creative.
Scheer also highlighted the emotional environment around women’s sports. Fans arrive feeling enthusiastic and optimistic, and that positive sentiment transfers to brands that show up authentically. When a sponsor supports the same values as the community, fans are more likely to reward it with attention and purchases.
A practical playbook for marketers
The panel pointed to four principles that can guide brand partnerships in women’s sports:
- Lead with athlete stories, not just match-day logos and banners.
- Create consistent social and shoulder content that keeps fans connected between games or tournaments.
- Look for structural flexibility, including league-wide platforms that simplify high-impact activation.
- Measure emotional connection and shared values, alongside reach and frequency, because value-aligned fans can drive long-term loyalty.
Why this matters now
For marketing professionals and students, the conversation is a useful signal. As flag football, volleyball, hockey and other women’s sports gain momentum, early partners can help shape the narrative rather than simply buy into an established audience. The opportunity is strongest for brands willing to treat women’s sports as a standalone cultural property, not a derivative of a men’s property.
Teams should evaluate sponsorships by asking whether the property offers storytelling access, content flexibility and a real connection to community values. If the answer is yes, the partnership has room to move beyond awareness into genuine brand-building.
Source: Adweek
