Business of Women's Super League (WSL) 2022-23 - Property Profile, Sponsorship and Media Landscape

Business of Women's Super League (WSL) 2022-23 - Property Profile, Sponsorship and Media Landscape

Summary

An analysis of the current business landscape in the WSL, including a look at the current state of the league's sponsors, media rights and club sponsorship portfolios.

In 2021, the Women’s Super League (WSL) struck a deal with the BBC and Sky over broadcasting rights, with up to 66 matches being broadcasted live on those channels.

The deal is worth approximately $33.26 million over three years, with the deal expected to provide huge exposure to the WSL.

The WSL also has 25 international broadcasting deals for the 2022/23 season, an increase of five from the previous year. The league has only a limited portfolio of three partners, including Nike, EA Sports and Barclays

Barclays remains the largest value partnership on the books with the league, valued at $4.42 million a year.

Nike joined the WSL sponsorship roster for the 2022/23 season, becoming the official ball supplier for the league. Despite all sponsors being joint with the men’s, Manchester City Women collect the highest sponsorship revenue in the WSL at $214.01 million, whilst Manchester United Women collect $208.49 million, with a large portion coming from shirt sponsors.

Only four clubs in the WSL have a women’s only sponsor, with 94.4 per cent of sponsorships in the WSL being joint between the men’s and women’s teams.

Clothing and accessories was the most common sponsorship sector, accumulating 21.1 per cent of WSL club sponsors.

Key HighlightsGlobalData estimates the WSL to generate $14.72 million in sponsorship revenues, with the majority of this coming from title sponsor, Barclays, reportedly worth $13.22 million a year. The other two deals make up the remainder of the deal, with Nike’s deal reportedly worth $1.25 million a year, whilst EA Sport's deal is worth $250,000.The total current spending from kit supplier brands for 2022/23 stands at $480.72m, despite all deals being joint between the men's and women's teams. Manchester United dominate the kit deals, with their adidas deal reportedly worth $128.44 million. The front-of-shirt sponsorship market is worth an estimated $348.24 million in the WSL, with Manchester City's deal with Etihad dominating the league, worth an estimated $68 million annually, in a deal for both the men's and women's team. Liverpool Women are the only WSL club to have a separate front-of-shirt sponsor to the men's team, in a deal with Standard Chartered worth $500,000 annually. The sleeve sponsorship market in the WSL is worth $91.84 million, with Chelsea's deal with WhaleFin for both the men's and women's team worth the most in the league at $24.63 million. Reading are the only WSL team with a separate sponsor to the men's team with RSSL, worth $260,000 annually, whilst Aston Villa Women are without a sleeve sponsor.Clothing & accessories, financial services and travel & tourism are the most frequently featured industries in terms of WSL sponsors.ScopeThis report provides an overview of the current situation regarding kit supplier, shirt sponsor and sleeve sponsor deals for all 12 WSL teams. It also identifies the current state of the WSL's media landscape and how it has recently changed. This report also looks at the league's social media following, in comparison to other women's leagues around Europe.The report provides a detailed analysis of all 12 teams in the WSL, and their current sponsorship outlook as well as expiring deals, and newer upcoming ones that have been agreed.A detailed look at the league’s sponsorship portfolio and generated revenue, as well as the challenges involved in growing the league’s commercial profile.Reasons to BuyFor those wanting an in depth analysis of how the WSL is currently performing.General metrics for the WSL such as attendance numbers and social media followings are included. The report will also be of interest to those who are interested in the kinds of brands that have sponsorship deals in place with the WSL, and its clubs. Identified are the most prevalent sectors and brands, as well as the biggest revenue generators of these aforementioned sectors.