However, 75% are against a paywall being brought in
A study from women’s football social media platform and creative agency She’s A Baller has found that two thirds of women’s football fans would be willing to pay a subscription to watch the sport.
It also found that 26% of predominantly men’s football fans, and 58% of those who watch both men’s and women’s football, would be willing to subscribe if competitions such as the WSL went behind a paywall. The report surveyed 1153 football fans during Q3 of 2024, before segmenting the answers into these three groups.
Currently, the WSL’s rights are shared by Sky Sports and the BBC, with the majority of televised games behind a paywall on the former. Meanwhile, England women’s matches are shown on ITV, and DAZN broadcasts the Women’s Champions League as well as many European and international leagues - with free to air coverage through its YouTube channel. Next year’s Women’s Euros will be shared by the BBC and ITV.
However, while fans may be willing to pay if a paywall for all women’s football comes in - much like there is for the majority of men’s football in the UK - 75% of women’s football fans are against one coming in. This becomes 46% for men’s football fans, and 56% for those who watch both. It is more popular with younger viewers, but a majority of them are still against it - 53% of 16-24 year olds, 69% of 25-34 year olds and 72% of 35-44+ year olds disagree with a paywall.
In addition to data on paywalls, the report also found that 88% of women’s football fans mainly watch at home, but the same proportion would be interested in joining an in-person watchalong at a pub or similar.
In terms of where fans get their content, 92% of women’s football fans watch on TV, 91% consume social media content, and 58% through the press. These numbers are similar for those who watch both men’s and women’s football, while men’s fans are 69% TV, 55% social media, and 15% gaming.
The most popular social media platforms for all three groups’ women’s football consumption are Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with a gap ahead of X, formerly known as Twitter, in fourth. Instagram is by far the most popular, with 99% of women’s football fans to TikTok’s 74%, 96% to 69% of equal fans, and 78% to 60% of men’s football fans.
For types of content, player content is the most popular, with a mix of news, entertainment, and data-driven content following it across all groups. The majority of all groups also find this content easy to access, with roughly a third having trouble.
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