Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Public appetite for women's sport has risen through the pandemic

07/10/2021

New data reveals 21% of UK adults have increased their following of women's sport

68% of those admitting a rise say new interest is driven by their enjoyment of recent broadcast coverage of women's sport

Almost a quarter of men surveyed are following women's sport more than pre-pandemic (24%)

Download the full report here.

Public interest in women's sport has risen during the period of the pandemic with 21% of UK adults saying they follow it more than they did 18 months ago, according to a new report published by Sky Sports and Leaders in Sport.

Jonathan Licht, Managing Director, Sky Sports, said: This report shows that women's sport is again prospering and is overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic. It's fantastic to see from this data that its recovery has been bolstered by an increased appetite from the public.

The success of The Hundred and the incredible viewing figures for the Women's Super League at the start of the new broadcast deal highlight the momentum behind women's sport. We're excited to support and contribute to its long-term success.

Analysed in Women's Sport: bouncing back from the pandemic?' the new data reveals the nation's growing interest in women's sport, with over two-thirds (68%) of those who follow more women's sport stating that their enjoyment of broadcast coverage has fuelled that interest.

Fans were glued to screens this summer as sport returned with the delayed Men's Euros and Olympics alongside domestic leagues. New research shows that eyeballs are increasingly focused on women's sport with a significant rise in the number of men watching and engaging during the pandemic. Nearly a quarter of men now say they follow more women's sport than they did 18 months ago (24%).

Tracey Crouch MP, Chair of Fan-led review into football and former Sports Minister, added: This new research shows that despite the challenges of the pandemic, women's sport has great resilience and is not just surviving but thriving after an exciting summer of sport. We must applaud the work of broadcasters like Sky Sports who have been innovative in the ways they have supported the growth of women's sport which is driving more people to watch and follow.

Those polled also highlighted the importance of growing the media coverage of women's sport with 19% saying that news reporting has made them want to tune in to watch or attend women's sport in the last 18 months. While 41% believe that women's sport should be treated the same as men's sport when it hits our screens.

Away from news and broadcasting, nearly half of those surveyed insist there should be parity in marketing with both female and male athletes appearing in sports advertising (49%). While of those who have been watching more women's sport, 32% agreed that they had learned more about women's sport and its stars through advertising and social media.

In the report, experts from the sports industry are interviewed to capture a snapshot of the threats and opportunities facing women's sport, discussing strategies and leadership from the sector that are catalysing growth as it recovers from the worst impacts of the pandemic.

Laura McQueen, Managing Director, Leaders, commented: Here at Leaders, we've proactively looked to champion the commercial development of women's sport through multiple events, programmes and series over the past 5 years, all with the shared objective of accelerating the pace of change in the industry we know and love. While there is still plenty of work to do to achieve parity, we're delighted to showcase that the appetite to watch and engage with women's sport has drastically increased through the pandemic; and we're proud to partner with Sky Sports to showcase these findings to the industry through a new, extensive report.

Key findings:

Commercial innovation: rights owners and broadcasters are looking at flexible approaches to build audiences such as The Hundred and WSL

Advocacy is key: Male allies, especially the voices of male athletes should be sharing the stories of the female counterparts and wielding their influence in the industry. From those surveyed 24% agreed that male athletes should use their public profile to support women's sport.

Values over victory: Generation Z consumers are increasingly supporting sports in a way that prioritises the athletes over the sport itself, and idolising values over victory. Those polled showed there was more interest in supporting female athletes who were good role models off the pitch than their male counterparts (12% versus 7% respectively).

Sky Sports has broadcast women's golf and cricket for 25 years and netball for 15 years and is committed to supporting the growth of women's sport. By sharing insights on the successes and focus areas, Sky Sports wants to enable the industry to work together to power women's sport to the next level.

Download the full report here.

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of Comcast Corporation. Across six countries, we connect our 23.4 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news and arts including our own award-winning original content.

Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love - with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, BBC Sounds, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service NOW, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Gangs of London and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Stud
LINK: https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/public-appetite-for-women-s-spo...
See more stories from sky

More from BskyB

10/07/2025

From Treehouses to the Deep Sea: A First Look at Sky Kids New Adventures

Thursday 10 July 2025 The Very Small Creatures Jaime's Treetop Tales Emerald BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party The Very Sm...

10/07/2025

Millions of Sky customers set to enjoy even bigger rewards as Sky VIP loyalty programme gets a major upgrade

Thursday 10 July 2025 Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...

09/07/2025

Sky becomes UKs fastest major broadband provider with launch of new 5 Gbps Full Fibre speed and WiFi 7 hub

Wednesday 9 July 2025 Sky Broadband now has the UK's fastest broadband spee...

04/07/2025

Official trailer revealed for new season of BAFTA-winning Sky Original comedy Mr Bigstuff, coming 24 July

Friday 4 July 2025 Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/Od5WpvWmDr8 Further...

03/07/2025

Sky Arts Unveils New Mozart Season, Celebrating the Legacy of Classicals Greatest Maestro

Thursday 3 July 2025 David Harewood and Matthew Broome in Mozart: Genius for Hi...

03/07/2025

Sky announces 2025 Sky WNT Fund Recipients

The Sky WNT Fund supports Womens National Team players with a 30,000 bursaryThursday 3 July 2025 Sky Ireland has announced the four recipients of the 2025 Sky...

27/06/2025

RTL Group to acquire Sky Deutschland

Friday 27 June 2025 Combination of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) to create a unique proposition in entertainment, sports ...

18/06/2025

Sky Original documentary Death of a Showjumper coming soon to Sky and streaming service NOW

Wednesday 18 June 2025 Today, Sky announced the brand-new Sky Original document...

18/06/2025

Sky Original documentary Death of a Showjumper to air on Sky and streaming service NOW on 16 July

Wednesday 18 June 2025 Today, Sky announced the brand-new Sky Original document...

18/06/2025

The Trip returns: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon embark on The Trip to the Northern Lights

The fifth instalment of the multi-award-winning Sky Original comedy from acclaim...

18/06/2025

Sky Original documentary Death of a Showjumper to air on Sky and streaming service NOW this July

Wednesday 18 June 2025 Today, Sky announced the brand-new Sky Original document...

17/06/2025

Sky exclusive film Hill coming to Sky and streaming service NOW from 2 July

Tuesday 17 June 2025 One name. Two world champions. In 1996, Damon Hill claimed the Formula 1 World Championship and cemented his place in motorsport history, ...

16/06/2025

Sky, Channel 4 and ITV announce joint intent to launch groundbreaking premium video advertising marketplace

Monday 16 June 2025 For the first time, small to medium sized businesses will b...

16/06/2025

WWF and Sky Kids launch Wear it Wild with Ready Eddie Go!

Monday 16 June 2025 Families and children are invited to dress up, have fun and raise money to protect nature WWF UK and Sky Kids are teaming up to launch Wea...

12/06/2025

Dan Biggar, Ronan OGara, Sam Warburton and Warren Gatland star in Sky Sports line-up for The British & Irish Lions Tour

Thursday 12 June 2025 Sky Sports has revealed its on-screen line-up for the Qat...

11/06/2025

Eva Langret joins the judging panel for Landscape Artist of the Year as production begins on its 11th series

Wednesday 11 June 2025 Production begins on the 11th series of flagship Sky Art...

10/06/2025

Official trailer now available for 7/7: Homegrown Terror, airing 29 June on Sky Documentaries and NOW

Tuesday 10 June 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To...

10/06/2025

Sky Kids brings beloved book character to life with new Sky Original series My Friend Maisy

Tuesday 10 June 2025 Sky Kids has commissioned My Friend Maisy, a brand-new 2D ...

03/06/2025

Introducing Sky Glass Air, the newest addition to Skys TV range from just 6/month

On sale from 10th JuneTuesday 3 June 2025 Sky has unveiled Sky Glass Air, a sty...

03/06/2025

Sky releases official trailer for season three of the Sky Exclusive series The Gilded Age, debuting 23 June

Tuesday 3 June 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To ...

21/05/2025

VOICE-NO! Brits call time on long voice notes

Wednesday 21 May 2025 Brits call for voice notes to be capped at two minutes after research reveals the nation is suffering from VNF - Voice Note Fatigue Voice...

20/05/2025

Sky releases official teaser for Sky Exclusive drama series IT: Welcome to Derry, coming this Autumn

Tuesday 20 May 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To ...

16/05/2025

Sky releases Official Trailer and Key Art for Sky Exclusive film Mountainhead, written and directed by Jesse Armstrong

Friday 16 May 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To d...

15/05/2025

Official teaser trailer released of Sky exclusive drama Task coming to Sky and streaming service NOW this September

Thursday 15 May 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To...

14/05/2025

Sky Original film Tinsel Town reveals first look

Wednesday 14 May 2025 Image Credit @Sky UK. Photographer: Matt Squire. High-Res image available to download HERE THE FILM STARS KIEFER SUTHERLAND & REBEL WIL...

09/05/2025

Sky Original documentary The Girl Who Caught a Killer to air on Sky and streaming service NOW on 25 May

Friday 9 May 2025 Download images HERE Episodes are available on Sky Media Vil...

07/05/2025

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom to join Sky Original film slate in 2026

Wednesday 7 May 2025 Shaun the Sheep fans are in for a baaaarilliant treat in 2...

29/04/2025

Sky Sports to broadcast Barclays Womens Championship title decider between Birmingham City versus London City Lionesses

Tuesday 29 April 2025 The Women's Professional Leagues can confirm that thi...

28/04/2025

New research from Sky Sports looks at the role of Womens sport fandom in the future of sports

Monday 28 April 2025 New research from Sky Sports, released today, shows that w...

28/04/2025

Official trailer released for Sky Documentaries three-part series, Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park, airing 11 May

Monday 28 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To...

28/04/2025

Victory lap for A League of Their Own

After 20 Legendary Seasons Sky is Hanging Up The Boots of its BAFTA-winning Sports Show. Production of farewell series tees off this summerMonday 28 April 2025 ...

25/04/2025

High Kicks and High Stakes: Sky Arts announces new series, The Battle of the Irish Dancers

Friday 25 April 2025 Hot on the heels of the Irish Dancing World Championships ...

22/04/2025

Sky Releases Official Teaser for Exclusive Film Mountainhead, Written and Directed by Jesse Armstrong

Tuesday 22 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. T...

16/04/2025

Sky Exclusive series And Just Like That set to return to Sky and streaming service NOW on 30 May

Wednesday 16 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies....

16/04/2025

Official trailer released ahead of the return of highly anticipated mystery-of-the-week Sky Exclusive drama, Poker Face on 8 May

Wednesday 16 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies....

14/04/2025

Masters Sunday becomes most-watched day in Sky Sports history

Monday 14 April 2025 On an unmissable day of world-class sporting drama, Sky Sports created its own history by breaking viewership records on Sunday 13 April, ...

10/04/2025

Live from London, its Saturday Night!

Lorne Michaels to Executive Produce Saturday Night Live UK, coming to the UK for the first time in deal with SkyThursday 10 April 2025 Sky is bringing NBC'...

09/04/2025

Study unearths nations most embarrassing Phone Faux Pas

Wednesday 9 April 2025 Top 15 phone faux pas and etiquette fails revealed - with Instagram mishaps and accidental texts topping the list ALL Brits who use a ...

07/04/2025

Sky to introduce Brummies from other Mummies at The Brum Hole portal

Monday 7 April 2025 To mark the launch of Joe Lycett's United States of Birmingham, the public are invited to put themselves forward to meet a Brummie from...

04/04/2025

Mountainhead, a Sky Exclusive film written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, to land on Sky and streaming service NOW on 1 June

The film Stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, And Ramy You...

03/04/2025

Sky to be headline sponsor of Isle of Wight Festival 2025

Thursday 3 April 2025 Sky and Isle of Wight Festival have inked a multi-year deal which marks Sky's first ever major festival partnership Sky Arts, Sky S...

03/04/2025

Sky announces fourth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursary for player development

Thursday 3 April 2025 Sky Ireland has announced the fourth year of the Sky WNT bursary fund, which will increase this year from 25,000 to 30,000, reaffirming...

31/03/2025

Sport draws nearly a billion hours of viewing, while nearly half of under 35s tune into podosphere for news

Sky's latest Attention Index unveils how viewers are transforming the UK'...