Since its inception, the National Football League (NFL) has mainly relied on its male fanbase, which has dominated viewership numbers for decades. However, a recent shift in viewership has turned the NFL upside down, leading to unexpected results that caused a major shift in the league’s business strategy.
According to the NFL, the 2024 Super Bowl saw a record-breaking increase in women viewers: women represented nearly half the total viewership.
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Maybe it’s due to Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelsey, which has been all over social media and the tabloids, and prompted the cameramen to “accidentally” always give Swift a cameo on the Jumbotron.
Or it could be due to women’s naturally growing interest in sports as the newer generations’ mindsets have changed and evolved.
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Either way, clearly, there is a large audience of female viewers that the NFL has yet to fully tap into since, historically, the focus has been on men.
Trent McDuffie #22 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates an interception against the Cleveland Browns with teammates during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field.
The NFL partners with Betches Media to grow its female audience
This week, the NFL announced it has partnered with Betches Media to continue growing the league’s female fanbase.
With a 250 million cross-platform reach, Betches Media is a company that creates multimedia content, including podcasts, newsletters, events, social channels, and its website, all of which focus on humor and cultural topics specifically geared toward millennial and Gen Z women.
“By teaming up with Betches, we’re creating content that bridges the NFL and culture in a way that resonates with their audience’s unique perspective,” said Anna DeLucia, senior manager of business development and strategic investments at the NFL. “Whether you’re cheering every Sunday or new to football, this relationship invites women into the NFL conversation in a way that’s fun, approachable and engaging.”
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Before the partnership was set in stone, Betches already had a large sports-loving female audience, with the NFL being the most popular sports league. This is why the media company launched Betches Sports earlier this year.
With this new partnership, Betches will obtain access to events like the Super Bowl, the NFL draft, and all games so the company can create content that better resonates with its female audience. This content will include original video series, social and digital campaigns, interviews with athletes and talent, and more.
“We launched Betches Sports earlier this year to create a community for women sports fans that is fun, inviting and gives us a new specialized second screen experience. It’s been amazing to witness the cultural conversation surrounding women and sports begin to shift, and we are so excited to collaborate with the NFL to take our mission to the next level,” said Aleen Dreksler, Betches Media CEO and co-founder.
The partnership across all Betches platforms is set to launch with the Pro Bowl Games in 2025.
Betches breaks the NFL partnership news and women react
When Dreksler said, “At Betches, we know that some of the most dedicated sports fans in the world are women,” she was not wrong.
As soon as the partnership was made public, Betches Sports took to Instagram to announce the big news to its audience, and the response from female fans was nothing but positive.
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Many users congratulated the media company on this huge achievement by commenting:
“Football is for the GIRLS” and “Big day for all of us football girlies.”
Another excited user commented:
“I love that my pop culture side and football side get to come together for the girls.”
Some users felt like the NFL took too long to notice the huge female fanbase that has been watching football for years, with one commenting:
“Women and girls have BEEN watching NFL games. It’s about time the NFL… cared.”
Another user added:
“The sports coverage we NEEDED”
One user admitted to not being the biggest football fan, but thanks to this partnership, she now feels compelled to join the fanbase:
“Okay, I’ll finally start watching football because of this.”
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