Episode summary
Angela Ruggiero on Business of Women’s Sports, Rugby | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 6 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Angela Ruggiero
Summary
Women's sports is moving from a niche story to a real asset class, and Angela Ruggiero argued the market is finally catching up to what Sports Innovation Lab had been pointing out for years. She said valuations are rising, transactions are picking up, and the last five years have seen the category accelerate sharply, especially in the last two. The central theme was that women’s sports now has a clearer business case because fans are spending, brands are rethinking budget allocations, and media money is starting to matter more.
Ruggiero pointed to the Caitlin Clark effect as proof that breakthrough stars can expand visibility and reach not just for the WNBA but across women’s sports. She also highlighted Alona Maher as an example from rugby of the kind of athlete who can become larger than the sport itself. At the same time, she said growth has to be managed carefully: revenue needs to catch up, and leagues and investors should avoid repeating past mistakes of expanding too quickly.
On ownership and capital, Ruggiero said more women now have wealth and are directing it toward sports assets, especially through family offices. She noted the rise of 10 or 12 women’s sports private equity funds in the last 2 to 3 years, but said the bigger shift is that long-term investors are beginning to accept that early losses can be part of building enterprise value.
Key takeaways
- Angela Ruggiero said women's sports has exploded over the last five years, with valuations and transactions rising sharply in the last two.
- She argued the Caitlin Clark effect shows how one star can lift the WNBA and the wider women's sports market.
- Ruggiero said media money is becoming the major new revenue bucket, while brands may need to raise women's sports spending from 5% toward 10% to 20%.
- She said growth should be slow and steady because revenue still lags investment, and women's leagues need room to build enterprise value.
- Ruggiero said family offices and women investors are increasingly backing women's sports assets, including early movers like Michele Kang.
Notable quotes
“women's sports is one of the uh probably major trends that I think everyone's going to be talking about today”
“in the last 5 years exploded and particularly in the last two uh you're seeing valuations going up you're seeing a lot of uh transactions happening”
“there's a business case here there's an undercurrent of fans that want to buy and spend money and there's a market”
“there's 10 or 12 women's sports private equity funds that have popped up in the last 2 to 3 years”
How the episode opens
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Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. Paul and I are live at Bloomberg Power Players New York. This is a Bloomberg Live event uh that we're talking about the business of sports which is a multi- trillion dollar global industry and we're bringing you influential voices from the business behind sports to help you identify what's next.
So I'm thrilled to welcome Angela Viro. She is co-founder at Sports Innovation Lab, executive board at World Rugby and at International Olympic Committee. And of course uh you might well know her as a gold medalist, a four-time Olympian, a former ice hockey defense woman.
Angela, great to see you.
Thanks for having me. — This is not your first time around at uh Power Players. What does this event mean to you and the growth of women's sports?
Yeah, love getting in the room uh with smart people, with data, with understanding what the trends are. I think it's uh behooves everyone to just stay in the know of of what's happening. This event does that.
Um yeah, women's sports is one of the uh probably major trends that I think everyone's going to be talking about today. uh it's just in the last 5 years exploded and particularly in the last two uh you're seeing valuations going up you're seeing a lot of uh transactions happening that you know even 3 four years ago no one was paying attention well well I was for the recorder I was telling everyone our company's data at sports invasion lab we were we're pumping it out saying there's there's a business case here there's an undercurrent of fans that want to buy and spend money and there's a market and so it's nice to see the market finally catching up
And one I mean Angela's had such a career my favorite I think is you're a member of the 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame, only the fourth woman.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- business of women's sports
- rugby world cup
- women's rugby
- sports innovation lab
- world rugby
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Sports Innovation Lab
- World Rugby
- International Olympic Committee
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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