San Jose announced on Tuesday that in December it will be debuting California’s first Professional Women’s Hockey League team. However, fans of the league are complaining that it’s been hard to follow, since major sports apps like Bleacher Report and ESPN rarely platform women’s sports.
So, how does an emerging women’s sport get platformed on a major app? Well, in order to get their stats out, they need to partner with sports data and broadcast companies that then verify and distribute them to bigger platforms like ESPN.
That can cost anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousand dollars. Which is a significant barrier for leagues that are still trying to build their fan base like the Professional Women’s Hockey League — or PWHL.
Now in its third season, the PWHL is finally featured on apps like theScore and The Athletic. But you still can’t find their stats on ESPN or Bleacher Report. This makes it hard for would-be fans to find out about these emerging leagues, and for existing fans to keep up with games and their favorite players.
The problem is pervasive across women’s sports. The Women’s National Football League, Major League Volleyball, and Women’s Elite Rugby, to name a few—still aren’t included on any popular sports app.
Fans of the Golden State Storm, Oakland’s newest women’s tackle football team, can go to the Storm’s website to find general data for the season. However, comprehensive game or player stats aren’t available.
