Oct 2, 2026 · 8 min
Game Changers links AI strategy to women’s sports growth
SBJ Morning Buzzcast: October 2, 2026
The episode connects leadership, resilience, audience strategy and practical AI use to the business challenges shaping women’s sports.
- 1Kim Ng’s career story and conference advice frame setbacks as part of leadership rather than evidence of failure.
- 2Julie Souza argues that sports organizations should use AI to advance business goals, not adopt it simply because it is available.
- 3Rachel Axon distinguishes women’s sports fans from women who are sports fans, pointing to more precise marketing and communication.
Don't miss
Rachel Axon’s distinction between women’s sports fans and women who are sports fans provides the episode’s most consequential audience-strategy insight.
The brief
From New York City, Joe Lemire, Betty Gomes and Rachel Axon revisit the Game Changers Conference, beginning with Kim Ng’s path to becoming an MLB general manager and lessons about resilience.
The conversation turns practical: Julie Souza’s AI lesson is to start with a business or revenue strategy, while Rachel Axon argues that women’s sports audiences require more precise marketing.
The distinction between women’s sports fans and women who are sports fans becomes the episode’s clearest audience insight, challenging broad assumptions about how to reach women.
Joe Lemire and Rachel Axon also discuss Val Ackerman’s Legacy of Leadership Award, linking her advocacy for a women-in-sports event to the honor’s significance.
The close previews the SBJ Sports Media Podcast, with discussion of Kirk Herbstreit’s Amazon Prime Video extension, the NFL’s Brazil game and the NHL season opener.
