Valkyries president reveals the audiences hiding in plain sight

Your Women's Sports Business Digest

February 03, 2026

Sports marketing agencies told teams for years that women's sports fans were "a small group of people" who couldn't support standalone business models. Their research was wrong.

Jess Smith found that of Golden State Valkyries season ticket holders, 7% overlapped, showcasing a new audience for Chase Center and Golden State funneling in through the Valkyries product.

Traditional databases were built on men's sports engagement. They systematically undercounted audiences watching women's sports exclusively.

This week, Jess Smith breaks down three distinct consumer segments and how the Valkyries are serving them all.

🤿 Below the Surface

Here's what's on deck this week:

  • Signal Strength: How three audience segments were key to the Valkyries' growth

  • In the Current: New leadership, investment, and media shaping women's sports infrastructure

  • Blue Zone: BOWS 2026 → Get your ticket now! 

  • Shark Bite: WHSP co-founder on closing the research gap for female athletes

⚡️ Signal Strength  

Three Untapped Audiences Brands Can’t Afford To Miss

Smith identified three audience segments and is prioritizing the focus on these for the Valkyrie's second season. 

Each requires different activation approaches, but the most successful strategies address all three simultaneously:

The Dedicated Women's Sports Fan: Follows athletes from college through professional careers across multiple leagues. "They know every stat about every player," Smith explains. "They've been waiting for this moment. They just haven't been in anyone's database yet."

The "Bright Believer" (Ages 18-35): Values-driven consumers who "care deeply about where they spend their time and money." Many wouldn't attend men's sports games. They connect through community aspects, seeking spaces where they feel represented.

The Traditional Sports Fan: Quality-focused consumers who evaluate athletic performance at technical levels. This segment validates competitive credibility and requires premium experience quality.

In aiming to capture all three audiences, Smith's team asks during partnership design: which audiences does this serve, and how does it create value for each?

By the numbers:

Brands considering women's sports investments now have clear performance indicators:

What she's saying: "There are so many fan profiles out there, and it's important to know what you're doing well within these audiences. It's also really important to know who you're not reaching. I talked about 3 very different audiences that come together under one product, but there’s still a lot more opportunity out there." — Jess Smith

Brands designing for one audience type miss two-thirds of the commercial opportunity. Smith continues investing in deeper segmentation, currently conducting research on male attendance patterns and positioning international roster decisions as market development ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

📰 In the Current  

We monitor the current so you can ride the wave. Here's what you need to know this week:

🦈 Blue Zone  

BOWS 2026: Incremental Gains & Future-Proofed Models

Deep Blue’s 4th annual Business of Women's Sports Summit presented by GEICO is set for Tuesday, April 14th in NYC. The focus this year: the business case is proven—now how do we scale it?

Join us to hear from industry experts, including Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Ashlyn Harris, Sarah Spain, Domo Wells, and more. Plus, drop by the NEW "Women’s Sports Café" dedicated to networking and deal-making as we bring global industry stakeholders together under one roof.

More speakers to be announced!

Early Bird Pricing available until 2/8. Don’t miss out!

🌊 Shark Bite

“If our amazing athletes are given better equipment and there’s more attention on their physiology and improved training plans and better understanding what they need, we think that there will be more competition, there will be better performances, there will be more longevity, and inevitably, that’s going to mean breaking more records and just having a higher level of play…”
– Dr. Kate Ackerman, former Team USA rower and WHSP co-founder

Smith built proprietary audience intelligence while agencies relied on outdated databases. Turns out, asking better questions reveals bigger markets.

– Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment

Interested in learning what deep blue is up to? Have an idea?  

Reach us at [email protected].

Rising Tide is published by Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, the first-of-its-kind firm designed to identify, create, and influence business models and growth opportunities in women's sports for forward-thinking brands.