The program will devote more staffing and resources to professional womenâs sports coverage, with a focus on basketball and soccer.
The Athletic and Google today announced the launch of a multiplatform project produced by The Athletic newsroom to support the growth. Future of professional womenâs sports journalism, through increased resources and use of Google products and tools for reporting. ěš´ě§ë ¸ěŹě´í¸
With one of the largest global sports newsrooms, and one of the biggest, most passionate communities of global sports fans.
The Athletic has built a foundation of coverage for fan-favorite womenâs sports leagues and teams. Through this initiative with Google, The Athletic will devote more staffing and resources. Double its womenâs sports coverage with a focus on WNBA and womenâs professional soccer. This means not only covering essential in-season game and match highlights. But broadening the coverage focus to include in-depth reporting and analysis of moments and athletes to tell deeper stories.
Starting in November, The Athletic will increase its coverage of womenâs sports via the following efforts:
Expanded coverage in professional womenâs basketball and soccer where The Athletic has continued to build audiences for these leagues. For pro-soccer, The Athletic will expand its existing industry-leading coverage to seek out stories around the global world of womenâs soccer.
This includes reporting on all of the major qualifying tournaments, roster decisions, and match action from the FIFA Womenâs 2023 World Cup and The 2023 NWSL Championship. For the WNBA, The Athletic has added additional national writers. Who will build on insider access and deeply reported features to expand coverage of professional basketball on a year-round basis.
Enhanced coverage will bring added depth to the WNBA, ranging from the draft and free agency to the regular season and playoffs to the business of womenâs basketball. It will also expand to cover both international competitions and the top players as they compete in Europe and around the world. ěě íěš´ě§ë ¸ěŹě´í¸
Increased support from the newsroom.
Including devoting more staffing and resources. To grow the production of game coverage, in-depth reporting, breaking news and special features for WNBA and professional womenâs soccer fans.
Multiplatform storytelling spanning The Athleticâs premium podcasts.
(âFull Time with Meg Linehanâ), newsletters (âThe Pulseâ) and social franchises. Going beyond stats and play-by-plays to provide deeper, global stories on professional womenâs soccer and basketball.
The Athletic is channeling growing enthusiasm in womenâs sports to provide additional resources, amplification and support. The Athletic aims to evolve the breadth and depth of its reporting in focus areas such as professional womenâs soccer and basketball, creating further access and attracting even more new readers.
âWe couldnât be more thrilled to be working with Google to accelerate our investments in womenâs sports. Our shared ambition with Google to increase media coverage will lead to even more audience interest, and continued growth in womenâs sports,â said Sebastian Tomich, Chief Commercial Officer, The Athletic.
This collaboration is the latest among Googleâs efforts to increase representation and coverage of womenâs sports.
As a Changemaker partner of the WNBA, Google has teamed with the league over the past two seasons. To broadcast additional live regular season and Playoff games. And as FIBAâs first global partner for womenâs basketball, Google helped air the most-ever Womenâs World Cup basketball games on live television in the U.S.
âWomen athletes deserve to be recognized for their incredible talents. Media coverage is an area that has traditionally lacked representation,â said Kate Johnson, Director. Marketing Partnerships and Sports Media, Google. âIâm proud that Google is teaming up with The Athletic to increase coverage of womenâs professional basketball. Soccer across its various news formats and helping to create a new cycle. Where intentional investment leads to more exposure and opportunities for these amazing athletes.â
In collaboration with Google, this initiative helps ensure The Athletic is positioned for the future of sport, which will increasingly be more female, diverse and multi-faceted. ěš´ě§ë ¸ěŹě´í¸ ěśě˛