Sky Sports extends commitment to womens sport

20 September 2013

Sky Sports extends commitment to womens sport

Sky Sports reinforces its unrivalled commitment to women's sport with three announcements that further support its year-round coverage

The three announcements comprise:

ENGLAND NETBALL - new three year deal for all 12 rounds of the Netball Superleague and all home England international fixtures exclusively.

2013 SPORTSWOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS - Exclusive partnership and coverage of the prestigious Sunday Times Awards ceremony, now in its 26th year.

SPORTSWOMEN' - a new weekly 30 minute programme featuring all the news, views and analysis from the world of women's sport on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports.

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: Women's sport is thriving and these announcements reinforce our unrivalled commitment on screen and off. Our involvement in the Sportswomen of the Year Awards will continue to allow us to champion and support exceptional sporting talent. Sky Sports is watched by six million women every month and we already show women's sport across more than 200 days of our calendar. Bringing more world class netball and our own bespoke Sportswomen programme to our schedule will add even more content for our viewers.

ENGLAND NETBALL

Sky Sports has signed a new three year deal with England Netball for all 12 rounds of the Netball Superleague and all home international fixtures. Live coverage starts this Sunday with the first of three England International fixtures against South Africa, before coverage continues with the Netball Superleague season, early next year, featuring all eight franchises from England and Wales.

Joanna Adams, Head of Marketing and Commercial for England Netball said: This deal is great news for netball fans in the UK and hopefully watching world class netball week-in week-out will inspire the next generation of England Internationals.

Following England's historic win over Australia earlier this year, which was shown live on Sky Sports, the popularity and profile of netball has never been higher. The exposure that Sky Sports is able to provide takes the game to a huge audience and allows us to invest in award-winning initiatives such as Back to Netball' which has seen over 30,000 women return to playing netball since 2010.

SUNDAY TIMES AWARDS

Sky Sports has agreed a deal for sponsorship of The Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards. The ceremony celebrates the outstanding contributions to sport made by women over the past year including athletes, coaches, administrators and community volunteers. Last year's Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year was Sky Sports' Ambassador Jessica Ennis-Hill, the London 2012 Olympic heptathlon champion.

Alex Butler, Sunday Times Sports Editor, said: The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards have grown in stature since the launch in 1988 and are unique. However, with Sky Sports now involved as co-sponsor and broadcaster, the event has moved to a new level. The achievements of British women in sport in 2013 have been phenomenal. Over the coming months - in print in The Sunday Times and on air with Sky Sports - we will celebrate those achievements, culminating in what promises to be a very special evening on Thursday December 5 when Sky will host and broadcast the awards ceremony. The Sportswomen of the Year Awards will confirm Sky Sports and The Sunday Times as leaders in their respective fields for sports coverage, and of womens sport in particular.

SPORTSWOMEN

The new programme launches on Sky Sports News on Tuesday 24th September at 10.30am. Sportswomen will cover all of the latest news, views and analysis and feature interviews with athletes and respected figures from the world of sport. Hayley McQueen will be joined for the first show by former England football manager, Hope Powell. It will be repeated on Sky Sports 1 at 6.30pm the same day and will also be available via Sky's On Demand service.

The programme will complement Sky Sports' unrivalled year-round coverage of women sports, which this year has included the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, conclusion of the triumphant 2013 Womens Ashes series, the victorious Solheim Cup win and England's Super League Netball series win over Australia, US Open tennis and international netball.

For further information please contact:

Sky Sports Publicity

www.skysports.com

LINK:	http://corporate.sky.com/media/press_releases/2013/sky_sports_extends_...
	See more stories from sky

Most recent headlines