What does it REALLY take to fuel the explosive growth of women’s sports and ensure it lasts?

From grassroots grants to elite athlete support, Danette Leighton, CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, shares how her organization is tackling inequality and building a healthier, more inclusive future for sports.

Danette and Dave explore how legislation like Title IX set the foundation for today’s momentum, and why it’s still just the beginning. With stats to back it up, she explains the direct links between sports participation and leadership, mental health, academic performance, and economic advancement, especially for young women.

Whether you're a brand, executive, or athlete, this episode offers a powerful reminder: investing in women’s sports isn’t charity: it’s smart business.

Tune in to learn why the ecosystem matters, what needs fixing in college athletics, and how every level of the pyramid contributes to long-term success.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why 71% of women attribute their leadership skills to youth sports participation
• The biggest opportunities (and threats) facing women’s sports, including elite leagues and college athletics
• What every policymaker needs to understand about the real value of sports for girls
• How the Sports for Life and Travel & Training grant programs are filling critical funding gaps
• Why brands are finally recognizing women’s sports as a smart business move, and how that’s impacting media deals, salaries, and fan growth

Resources and Links:

Connect with Danette Leighton on LinkedIn and learn more about the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

What if you could watch a live UFC fight or a Premier League match in a dome-shaped venue designed for immersive, shared experiences? Devin Poolman, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Cosm, joins the show to share how his team is reinventing live entertainment.

Devin dives into the origin story of Cosm and how they use planetarium technology, 8K live capture, and Unreal Engine-powered rendering. These cinematic viewing environments blur the lines between tech, storytelling, and hospitality.

Whether you're in the sports industry, media production, or tech innovation, you'll gain an inside look at how Cosm is scaling its venue model globally, offering fans a high-end, social, and hyper-localized alternative to passive viewing. From the layout of the building to the quality of the food, every detail is engineered for connection.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How a cell phone video of an LED dome sparked Cosm’s immersive venue concept
• Why Cosm acquired a planetarium company first, and how that decision shaped the foundation for everything that followed
• What Devin learned from early Olympic watch parties that pushed the team to raise the bar from 4K to 8K live capture in just six months
• How Cosm’s proprietary cameras, 8K+ workflows, and Unreal Engine-powered CX Engine are reimagining sports broadcasting
• Why high-end hospitality, venue architecture, and local flavor are just as important as the tech when creating fan-first environments

Resources and Links:

Connect with Devin Poolman on LinkedIn and learn more about upcoming events on Cosm’s website.

Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.

In a streaming-first world, how does the NBA keep fans engaged while reimagining the local broadcast model?

Chris Benyarko, EVP of Direct-to-Consumer Products at the NBA, is here for a compelling conversation around the NBA’s approach to innovation (not just through flashy tech!) through a deep understanding of their global fans and evolving content consumption habits.

You’ll hear about the NBA's personalized fan experiences, the complexities and opportunities of going global, and how technologies like optical tracking are changing everything from officiating to mixed-reality broadcasts.

Chris also shares candid thoughts on RSN disruption, delivering localized content at scale, and the power of being both a creator and consumer of sport.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The NBA’s approach to innovation and how they cultivate curiosity and embrace change across leadership, fans, and players
• Why optical tracking is the next big leap for officiating accuracy and unlocking new experiences in mixed and shared reality environments
• How the NBA App is personalizing the fan journey with vertical highlights and immersive fantasy integrations
• The upsides and complexities of being a global league across 130 currencies and multiple languages in its DTC business
• RSN disruption and how it’s positioning the NBA to deepen fan engagement through local DTC offerings within the NBA app

Resources and Links:

Connect with Chris Benyarko on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Next League on our website and LinkedIn. We are leading sports organizations into the digital future.