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iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment Launch Women’s Sports Audio Network – The First-Ever Audio Platform Dedicated to Women’s Sports

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iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment have partnered to launch the Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN), the first-ever audio platform dedicated to women’s sports. Featuring top sports champions like Sarah Spain and Sheryl Swoopes, WSAN aims to amplify women’s sports coverage and programming across various platforms. This partnership reflects iHeartMedia’s commitment to growing women’s sports by increasing equity in coverage and representation. The launch of WSAN coincides with the rising investment and viewership in women’s sports, with the industry expected to reach $1 billion this year, showcasing a 300% increase in three years. By providing fans with more access to athletes and stories, iHeartMedia and Deep Blue intend to engage millions of listeners and offer opportunities for brands to connect with an emerging market in women’s sports.
iHeartMedia e Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment hanno collaborato per lanciare la Women's Sports Audio Network (WSAN), la prima piattaforma audio dedicata esclusivamente agli sport femminili. Con campionesse di alto livello come Sarah Spain e Sheryl Swoopes, WSAN si prefigge di amplificare la copertura e la programmazione degli sport femminili su vari canali. Questa partnership riflette l'impegno di iHeartMedia a sviluppare gli sport femminili, aumentando l'equità nella copertura e nella rappresentazione. Il lancio di WSAN coincide con un aumento degli investimenti e degli spettatori negli sport femminili, con un'industria che quest'anno si prevede raggiunga il miliardo di dollari, dimostrando un incremento del 300% in tre anni. Offrendo ai fan più accesso agli atleti e alle loro storie, iHeartMedia e Deep Blue intendono coinvolgere milioni di ascoltatori e offrire opportunità per i brand di connettersi con un mercato emergente nello sport femminile.
iHeartMedia y Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment se han asociado para lanzar Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN), la primera plataforma de audio dedicada exclusivamente a los deportes femeninos. Con campeonas destacadas como Sarah Spain y Sheryl Swoopes, WSAN busca amplificar la cobertura y la programación de los deportes femeninos en diversas plataformas. Esta alianza refleja el compromiso de iHeartMedia con el crecimiento del deporte femenino a través del aumento de la igualdad en la cobertura y representación. El lanzamiento de WSAN coincide con el creciente interés y la inversión en deportes femeninos, esperando que la industria alcance los mil millones de dólares este año, lo que muestra un aumento del 300% en tres años. Al proporcionar a los aficionados más acceso a atletas e historias, iHeartMedia y Deep Blue pretenden captar a millones de oyentes y ofrecer oportunidades para que las marcas se conecten con un mercado emergente en los deportes femeninos.
iHeartMedia와 Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment가 함께 여성 스포츠 전용 오디오 플랫폼인 Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN)을 출시했습니다. 사라 스페인과 셰릴 스웁스 같은 최고의 스포츠 챔피언을 특징으로 하는 WSAN은 다양한 플랫폼을 통해 여성 스포츠의 보도 및 프로그래밍을 확대하는 것을 목표로 합니다. 이 파트너십은 여성 스포츠의 발전을 위한 iHeartMedia의 헌신을 반영하며, 보도와 대표성에서 평등성을 증가시킵니다. WSAN의 출시는 여성 스포츠에 대한 투자와 시청자 수가 증가하는 것과 일치하며, 이 산업은 올해 10억 달러에 도달할 것으로 예상되며, 이는 3년 만에 300% 증가를 보여줍니다. iHeartMedia와 Deep Blue는 더 많은 팬들에게 선수들과 이야기에 대한 접근을 제공함으로써 수백만 청취자들을 참여시키고 여성 스포츠의 신흥 시장과 연결할 수 있는 기회를 브랜드에 제공할 계획입니다.
iHeartMedia et Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment se sont associés pour lancer le Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN), la première plateforme audio jamais créée dédiée exclusivement aux sports féminins. Avec des championnes de haut niveau comme Sarah Spain et Sheryl Swoopes, WSAN vise à renforcer la couverture et la programmation des sports féminins sur diverses plateformes. Ce partenariat reflète l'engagement d'iHeartMedia à développer les sports féminins en augmentant l'équité dans la couverture et la représentation. Le lancement de WSAN coïncide avec l'augmentation des investissements et de l'audience dans les sports féminins, l'industrie devant atteindre un milliard de dollars cette année, ce qui représente une augmentation de 300% en trois ans. En offrant aux fans un meilleur accès aux athlètes et à leurs histoires, iHeartMedia et Deep Blue visent à engager des millions d'auditeurs et à offrir des opportunités aux marques de se connecter avec un marché émergent dans le sport féminin.
iHeartMedia und Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment haben sich zusammengetan, um das Women's Sports Audio Network (WSAN) zu starten, die erste jemals geschaffene Audio-Plattform, die sich ausschließlich dem Frauensport widmet. Mit Top-Sportlerinnen wie Sarah Spain und Sheryl Swoopes zielt WSAN darauf ab, die Berichterstattung und Programmierung von Frauensportarten auf verschiedenen Plattformen zu verstärken. Diese Partnerschaft spiegelt das Engagement von iHeartMedia wider, den Frauensport durch die Erhöhung der Gleichberechtigung in Berichterstattung und Repräsentation zu fördern. Der Start von WSAN fällt mit steigenden Investitionen und Zuschauerzahlen im Frauensport zusammen, wobei erwartet wird, dass die Branche in diesem Jahr 1 Milliarde Dollar erreicht, was einem Anstieg von 300% in drei Jahren entspricht. Indem sie den Fans mehr Zugang zu Athletinnen und Geschichten bieten, beabsichtigen iHeartMedia und Deep Blue, Millionen von Zuhörern zu gewinnen und Marken die Möglichkeit zu bieten, sich mit einem aufkommenden Markt im Frauensport zu verbinden.
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Featuring leading sports champions including Sarah Spain, Sheryl Swoopes and more, the Women’s Sports Audio Network will highlight and scale women’s sports coverage across broadcast radio, podcasts, streaming and events

New partnership reinforces iHeartMedia’s commitment to women’s sports programming, content and coverage

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- America’s #1 audio company iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment today announced a new partnership to launch the Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN), the first-ever audio platform dedicated exclusively to women’s sports. As a net-new audio platform dedicated to exploring and celebrating women’s sports competitions, including athletes’ stories on and off the field, WSAN is a free, ad-supported network that will include podcasts, daily sports reports, spotlights and audio vignettes, social content, promotion and industry event presence, and will be available across iHeartMedia’s broadcast, digital and podcast platforms and everywhere podcasts are heard.

The launch of the first-ever women’s sports audio network comes at a time when investment and viewership numbers for women’s sports are on the rise. This year, elite women’s sports are currently expected to become a $1 billion industry, representing a 300% increase in just three years, while in the US, women's sports still only receive 15% of media coverage.

By launching a network dedicated to delivering what fans want most – more access to the athletes, the influencers, the stories and the daily conversation around all things women sports – iHeartMedia and Deep Blue aim to amplify well-known and new influential female sports athletes and relevant programming to millions of listeners nationwide, and also unlock access to inventory and opportunities for brands to engage in an emerging market across various sports and communities. In a recent Deloitte report, research found that for every dollar spent in women’s sports, more than seven dollars was generated in “customer value for that organization.”

Women’s sports extends much further than the popular NCAA tournament and World Cup; The Women’s Sports Audio Network is designed to offer talent and programming year-round with the launch of new daily shows focused on a wide range of sports and commentary from a variety of talent, including leading sports media personality Sarah Spain and WNBA Legend, three-time Olympic gold medalist, Sheryl Swoopes, with more talent to be announced in the coming weeks.

This new partnership with Deep Blue, which is led by agency veteran Laura Correnti as Founder and CEO and WNBA Legend Sue Bird as Chief Strategy Officer, reinforces iHeartMedia’s commitment to accelerate growth in women’s sports by driving equity in coverage, representation, and access to women’s sports every day, everywhere in America through the power of iHeart’s mass reach.

This new slate will join iHeart’s growing roster of women’s voices in sports podcasting, such as Cari Champion, Erin Andrews and others. Additionally, the iHeartSports network has committed to run dedicated women’s sports reports daily across its network – servicing more than 500 broadcast stations and their digital streams throughout the country, across multiple formats.

“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,” said Gayle Troberman, Chief Marketing Officer for iHeartMedia. “We all win when the athletes, the fans and the brands get to play together every day in the biggest audio arena on the planet at iHeart.”

“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,” said Laura Correnti, Founder and CEO of Deep Blue. “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.”

Launching WSAN comes in close follow to Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment’s recent partnership with Axios, creating a thought leadership event series and editorial content dedicated to the business of women’s sports, focused on the economic and social impact women's sports has on individuals and global communities. The new partnership was announced on stage at Deep Blue and Axios’ Business of Women’s Sports Summit, held in New York City.

About Deep Blue
Deep Blue exists to identify, create, and influence business models and growth opportunities in emerging markets in sports and entertainment, including the firm's first vertical of focus: women's sports.

Deep Blue includes media, marketing and advertising practitioners working alongside athletes to ensure brands have a first-person perspective when building their women’s sport-focused marketing strategies and brand messaging. Led by Founder and CEO Laura Correnti, and Chief Strategy Officer, Partner, and WNBA legend Sue Bird, Deep Blue provides agency services including platform development and brand strategy, media investment, brand partnerships, ad campaign and content development, experiential marketing, league and club asset media value analysis and ancillary media / content strategy development, athlete / influencer partnerships, brand and thought leadership communications strategy, analytics and measurement framework development, and beyond.

The firm also includes an Athlete Advisory Council that helps inform client work. Founding members include Rennae Stubbs, ESPN commentator and former professional tennis player; professional golfer and media influencer Shasta Averyhardt; former Australian Cricket player and international cricket commentator Melanie Jones OAM; Olympian and former professional soccer player turned broadcaster, influencer, and entrepreneur Melissa Ortiz. Current clients include MassMutual, Ally, and UCLA.

About iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc. [NASDAQ: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.

MEDIA:

Angel Aristone

iHeartMedia

AngelAristone@iheartmedia.com

646-343-2410

Nicole Ryan

Deep Blue Sports

press@deepbluesportsent.com

310-339-0295

Source: iHeartMedia, Inc.

FAQ

What is the Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN) and who are the partners behind it?

The Women’s Sports Audio Network is a new audio platform dedicated to women’s sports launched by iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment.

Who are some of the leading sports champions featured on the Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN)?

The Women’s Sports Audio Network features sports champions like Sarah Spain and Sheryl Swoopes.

What platforms will the Women’s Sports Audio Network (WSAN) be available on?

WSAN will be available across iHeartMedia’s broadcast, digital, and podcast platforms.

What is the expected growth in the women’s sports industry this year according to the press release?

The women’s sports industry is expected to reach $1 billion this year, showing a 300% increase in three years.

What is the percentage of media coverage that women's sports currently receive in the US?

Women's sports currently receive only 15% of media coverage in the US according to the press release.

iHeartMedia, Inc.

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with 245 million monthly listeners in the u.s., 87 million monthly digital uniques, over 75 million social followers and 196 million monthly consumers of its total traffic and weather network, iheartmedia has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in america. it serves over 150 markets through 858 owned radio stations, and the company’s radio stations and content can be heard on am/fm, hd digital radio, satellite radio, on the internet at iheartradio.com and on the company’s radio station websites, on the iheartradio mobile app, in enhanced auto dashes, on tablets and smartphones, and on gaming consoles. iheartradio, iheartmedia’s digital radio platform, is the no. 1 all-in-one digital audio service with over 700 million downloads; it reached its first 20 million registered users faster than any digital service in internet history and reached 70 million users faster than any other radio or digital music service and even faster than facebook. the company’s operations incl