AVCA CEO Dr. Jaime Gordon joined D1.ticker’s Kristen Eargle to discuss the strong trajectory of women’s volleyball, why the sport has resonated with fans and advertisers, and ways that the spectator experience can be improved.
Regarding the sport’s growth, Gordon points out there were about 44 DI attendance records broken during this last season and adds: “Another exciting part for me is we’re doing it on the back of the sport in general and the experience that we’re having. We’re not being carried by one particular personality. We don’t have the benefit of a Caitlin Clark effect and so I think that trajectory continues to be consistent and we’re excited about it.”
In particular, Gordon cites the sport’s popularity among adults under 35 and its percentage of female viewership (41-43%) as a primary driver of increased inventory distribution on TV.
“Two years ago, we had never had a college volleyball match on network television. Last year, there were two and then this season that we just came off of we had eight network broadcasts. So, again that’s Fox, ABC, NBC and so I think we’re seeing that interest in that investment not just in the windows, but also in the production levels from Fox, Disney, NBC, CBS because of the market that you’re talking about.”
