last week for over $900 million, with women's# college sports making up the bulk of the deal.
While women's athletics have traditionally# been on the sidelines of sports media,## in recent years, they have scored some# big wins with mainstream audiences,## effectively tripling their# coverage in the process.
Stephanie Sy dives into the rise of women's# sports and the JILLIAN HISCOCK, Women's Sports Fan: So, yes,# like I was at this championship game 2017.
STEPHANIE SY: Minnesota resident Jillian# Hiscock is a die-hard fan of women's sports.
JILLIAN HISCOCK: I'm a huge WNBA fan# and women's basketball fan in general,## but I follow everything.
STEPHANIE SY: But catching a JILLIAN HISCOCK: So many women's sports# fans' experience has been walking into a bar,## looking around at the 20-plus TVs and knowing## that it is very likely the game# you want to watch is not on TV.
STEPHANIE SY: That is, until she# took a trip to Portland Oregon and## walked into The Sports Bra, the# world's first women's sports ba JILLIAN HISCOCK: It was literally# transformative walking in and just## knowing that this is a place# where my fandom is celebrated.
JENNY NGUYEN, Owner, The Sports Bra: It's not a## sports bar for wom STEPHANIE SY: Owner Jenny Nguyen# opened the Bra in 2022.
There,## she maintains the sports bar aesthetics,# but keeps the TVs tuned only to women's## sports coverage.
But keeping those screens# filled with women's sports took a game plan.
JENNY NGUYEN: If it was just what# was on TV and what was on cable,## there would not be enough to open The Sports# Bra.
So I reached out women's sports media brands that do their# own YouTube channels, that kind of thing.
WOMAN: Welcome to the "Just# Women's Sports Super Show."
STEPHANIE SY: While traditional# broadcast media has often treated## women's sports as a benchwarmer,# new media has given SHELLEY PISARRA, Executive Vice President of# Global Insights, Wasserman: Streaming platforms## have completely ch STEPHANIE SY: By including all# the ways fans now consume sports,## media and marketing researcher Shelley# Pisarra says women's sports grew from## just 4 percent to 15 percent of all# sports coverage in the past four years.
SHELLEY PISARRA: It is amazing.
And,## yes, it's triple w CHRISTINE BRENNAN, USA Today: When we look back,## we will look at 20 STEPHANIE SY: The rise in coverage# comes as no surprise to veteran sports## journalist Christine Brennan.
It's# the fruition of a landmark piece of## legislation known as Title IX signed by# Richard Nixon in 1972 giving women and## girls the right to equal opportunity# in sports in publicly funded schools.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN: We are now in the# beginning of the next 50 years of Title## IX.
It makes complete sense that we would# be seeing this explosion STEPHANIE SY: Brennan herself was a high# school athlete just after Title IX was passed,## but she didn't get to enjoy the benefits,# as the new rules took years to be enforced.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN: I'm honored to have# been kind of at the very beginning,## just getting that first glimpse of what# would come i STEPHANIE SY: And what followed are big# headline-stealing moments, like the showdown## between Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Louisiana State# University's Angel Reese in the NCAA basketball## final, Katie Ledecky beating Michael Phelps# for most individual world swimming titles,## and Simone Biles' comeback to become# the most decorated gymnast in history.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN: Today is the greatest# day to be a woman in sports until tomorrow,## but the mainstream sports media has not caught up.
STEPHANIE SY: While few women's# sports receive prime-time slots, their ratings have continuously# exceeded expectations.
The 2023 WNBA Finals were the most watched in# 20 years.
The National Women's Socc saw a 20 percent increase in TV ratings# this season.
Women's college volleyball## is continuously shattering its own viewership# ratings, and that NCAA women's basketball final,## it averaged 9.9 million viewers, more than the# five-game average for last year's World Series.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN: The rise of social media# has been a fabulous turn of events for women's## sports and women's sports fans, because, in# the old days, it just wouldn't be covered.
ELLIE CARSON, Women's Soccer Fan: Things that live## rent-free STEPHANIE SY: Eighteen-year-old# Ellie Carson is active on TikTok,## where she posts exclusively about# her favorite sport, wo ELLIE CARSON: I just posted a video, and then a# lot of people were commenting.
And I was, like,## blown away, because I really didn't have other# people in my life who liked women's soccer,## and I was like, oh, my God, there's other people?
STEPHANIE SY: Carson was first drawn# to the sport during the 2019 World Cu PROTESTERS: Equal pay!
Equal pay!
STEPHANIE SY: When the U.S. women's team was campaigning to earn as much# as their ELLIE CARSON: It definitely draws you to a team## when they stand for more than# JA QUINDA JACKSON, Women's Sports Fan: I love all## th STEPHANIE SY: For South Carolina# resident Jaquinda Jackson,## watching female ballers is empowering,# and, for her sons, enlighten JAQUINDA JACKSON: Showing two little# boys that women can and will compete,## it diminishes that whole stereotype# of women are like just one way.
BRENT ROWE, Women's Basketball Fan:# They're playing at such a high level,## it makes it really easy and# really entertain STEPHANIE SY: Brent Rowe has been a sports fan his# whole life, the men who make up roughly half the audience for# women's sports.
He's now a season ticket holder## for his local WNBA team, the Las Vegas Aces and# a fan of their championship-winn ng A'ja Wilson.
BRENT ROWE: The Aces were the first professional# sports team to bring a championship to the city,## and the first ones to have a parade on# the Las Vegas Strip.
How cool is that?
I'm rocking an A'ja Wilson Jersey# when I'm walking down the street.
STEPHANIE SY: Men like Rowe represent a sea change## for women's sports and are key# to its growth, CHRISTINE BRENNAN: These are Title IX males who# were raised very differently than the or grandfathers, and they will be fighting to# make sure there's advertising for women's sports.
STEPHANIE SY: While college sporting# events are, thanks to Title IX, split## evenly between men and women, professional# sports are dominated by men's leagues.
But Jillian Hiscock is banking on that changing.
JILLIAN HISCOCK: In here, we will have all# kinds of memorabilia, art on ST EPHANIE SY: Inspired by her visit to The# Sports Bra in Portland, she's getting ready## to open A Bar of Their Own, the Midwest's# first female sports bar in Minneapolis.
JILLIAN HISCOCK: I was that young girl athlete# that never really had representation in any## kind of professional sports, in sports# bars, and the ability to really expose## our younger generation to these women# athletes is really important to me.
STEPHANIE SY: A Bar of Their Own# will open its doors this March in## what is expected to be another# banner year for women's sports.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.