Once again, purple confetti rained on the LOVB Championship court, with Austin winning a second title in the league’s second year. But the biggest winner might have been LOVB itself, with the startup volleyball league generating noteworthy broadcast, sponsor, investor and social media interest in a sophomore campaign that has seen year-over-year increases in several areas.
From new owners buying into the league to three new expansion clubs set to start play next season, LOVB has hit the accelerator on its growth.
“We’re in a phenomenal position two years in,” said Commissioner Sandra Idehen, who handed the Tiffany-made championship trophy to Austin just three months into the job. “I think most leagues would really kill to be where we are.”
LOVB finds itself at the junction of commercial interest in women’s sports and one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Season 2 indicators show no sign of that slowing down.
Going into the season, USA Sports acquired the rights to a Wednesday night game of the week and the postseason. The April 16 first match of the championship was the most-watched LOVB match ever, averaging 163,000 viewers and peaking at over 225,000 viewers, while the final two matches on April 18 were up 50% over last year’s final.
Regular-season matches on USA Network were up 164% compared to linear coverage on ESPN last season.
“We try to partner with the leagues that we feel are best-in-class and have the highest growth potential,” said Matt Hong, president of USA Sports, “and we certainly felt like LOVB fell into that category.”
That appointment viewing helped LOVB grow this year, said Raquel Braun of Mulier Fortis, who serves as LOVB’s chief media officer. LOVB is in the second year of a two-year deal with ESPN, and it added Victory+ as a broadcaster this season.
From the marketing USA Sports put behind the league — including sending players to the Critics Choice Awards to generate interest elsewhere on USA Network — to the accessibility with Victory+ offering a way to watch matches, recaps and creator content for free, LOVB looked to expand its reach.
“The focus was, first and foremost, our audience and growing that audience,” Braun said. “And if we do that well, the revenue will come, the rights fees, the sponsorship dollars, the ads — all of those things follow.”
Those already are. Sponsors activating in the arena at Long Beach State included Chase, Dagne Dover and DryWater, with a sold-out crowd taking in the final night of Austin’s win over LOVB Salt Lake.
The league’s collaboration with Togethxr brought new merch, including the popular “Everyone Watches Women’s Volleyball” tee in a new colorway, and saw postseason sales up 50% year over year.
Courtside and in content, the league’s conclusion generated buzz. The championship drew celebrities, including Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, Holly Rowe and Ari Chambers — all investors in the expansion San Francisco club — as well as Issa Rae and John Wall.
On LOVB social channels, the event generated 35 million impressions (up 273% YoY) and 15.9 million video views (up 365% YoY).
“It’s visible that people are excited for their sport to continue to grow, and we’re just happy to be a part of that,” said Gio Tayetto, manager of sports marketing for speciality sports at Adidas.
“In the first two seasons, they’re already the third-best league in the world. The product on the court is visible. The ecosystem that they have with the clubs is amazing.”
Building on youth-to-pro system
The “ecosystem” Tayetto referenced is a differentiator, with LOVB’s pro league built alongside the 90 youth clubs it has nationwide. Sponsors, owners and league officials cite that as being responsible for generating interest.
Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe sponsored a jersey patch for the league’s Nebraska team last season before investing in LOVB San Francisco, for which she is chairwoman.
“I started going to all of these matches and I was like, ‘This is amazing,’” Wolfe said. “And I love the idea of youth to pro and bringing professional volleyball to the United States and women’s sports.”
So do others. After launching as a single-entity with six teams, something that has allowed the league to be nimble as it builds quickly, it has expanded with San Francisco, Minnesota and Los Angeles teams starting play next year.
Led by Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Alger, the league has sold ownership stakes for six of the nine teams (see chart). Lone Star Sports & Entertainment and Spurs Sports & Entertainment are among those buying into LOVB. The league will transfer business operations to ownership for those six clubs, and it remains in the market for ownership of the remaining three.
“There are so many amazing emerging women’s sports teams. There’s new opportunities all the time now, which is great,” said Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian, who leads ownership for the Los Angeles team. “This one stands out as one where we want to put our dollars and our energy and our time. … This is going to seem very obvious in a few more years. And the folks who are joining today are going to look very right and very smart.”
With the championship behind the league and a chance to plan long term this summer, Idehen said LOVB will be focused on negotiating its renewal with ESPN, as well as onboarding its new clubs. Idehen said it continues to receive inbound interest for expansion clubs.
“We’re building from an incredible base already of where some people probably didn’t even think we could be five, six, seven years down the road,” Idehen said. “And we’re there in Year 2.”
