Media companies are "taking advantage of a growing audience and advertiser interest in women’s sports," particularly with this year's Women's World Cup set to kick off tomorrow in France, according to Sahil Patel of DIGIDAY. Bleacher Report CEO Howard Mittman said that through its B/R Football vertical, the company has "booked more ad revenue" from the Women's World Cup than the men’s tournament last summer, with revenue at a level that is "10% higher." Mittman said that Bleacher Report’s advertising clients for this year's World Cup "includes Adidas, Hulu, Nike, PlayStation and Volkswagen." A lot of the work Bleacher Report does with advertisers and the World Cup will be "tied to video and social content the publisher produces both on-site in France as well as here in the U.S." This includes an "after-match interview series" hosted by former USWNT G Hope Solo. A spokesperson for Fox Sports said that advertiser interest in the tournament has "grown considerably" since the last Women's World Cup in '15. The spokesperson "declined to say how much ad revenue Fox Sports expects to collect" from this year's tournament. In '15, Fox Sports reportedly generated $40M in ad revenue, which was "more than double the initial estimates" of $17M and was driven by the USWNT "winning the tournament." Top sponsors for Fox Sports' coverage this year "include Coca-Cola, Volkswagen and Verizon" (DIGIDAY.com, 6/6).
