It will soon be easier to find women's sports.
The Women's Sports Network is the first of its kind to focus on female athletes.
Amazon.com's Freevee, Fox Corp.'s FuboTV and Tubi are among the streaming services that feature the Women's Sports Network. At a time when investment and viewership numbers for women's sports are on the rise, women only receive a small fraction of media coverage.
A four-time ice hockey Olympian who is on the board of advisors for the new network said that it is a significant step towards narrowing the gap in media coverage for female athletes.
Fast Studios, based in Los Angeles, first announced the network in February.
There are partnerships with the Women's National Basketball Association, Women's Football Alliance, Ladies Professional Golf Association, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, and the World Surf League. The games will be broadcast in the new year.
Stuart McLean, a long time ad executive, founded Fast Studios in 2020 with a focus on ad supported streaming television services. There are streaming networks for auto racing and spartan obstacle course competition.
There has been an increase in the number of people watching women's sports. There was a 22% increase in the number of people watching the playoffs. Now that college athletes can be paid for their name, image and likeness, female athletes at the collegiate level are winning deals with brands.
According to a recent study, women's sports only get 5% of media coverage.
The Women's Sports Network is exactly what athletes, fans and sponsors have been asking for, according to a release announcing the network launch.
A study conducted by the National Research Group and Ampere Analysis shows that 39% of Gen Zers are watching more women's sports than they were a year ago. The study found that many sports fans don't follow women's sports.
Women's sports go under-invested, under-supported, and under-viewed because they haven't been built. There isn't enough female writers. There isn't enough female broadcasters. There are not enough women producers. The media is still dominated by men.
The National Research Group and Ampere Analysis found that U.S. broadcast networks spent less than 1% of their media rights budgets on women's sports.
The traditional women's leagues have had decades of a jumpstart. There is more investment needed to build the brand, to build the awareness, to build the audience, to build the platform for these women's sports properties. She said that it was on the business side.
The studio show is hosted by a former Globetrotter, a sports reporter, and a sports reporter and producer.
CNBC's Jessica Golden contributed.
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