Caroline Barker on the growth of the WSL with Sky Sports

Spurred on by the success of the national team and backing from the likes of the BBC and Sky Sports, the WSL has been going from strength to strength in recent years. 

After another tournament that saw the Lionesses inspire the nation, albeit without a trophy to bring home this time, Sky Sports WSL presenter Caroline Barker believes that the momentum will continue: “Last season the average viewership was up by 45%. I think it will go again this season.” 

Aston Villa face Manchester United at 12.30pm on 1 October in the first match of the campaign, which will be broadcast on BBC2, with Sky Sports making its entrance at 5.30pm the same day to show Chelsea v Tottenham. The four other games taking place that day will be available through the FA Player.

Looking forward to the new season, Barker revealed to Broadcast Sport, “You’ll see all the ‘football’ stories shown across Sky, but you’re also going to see a lot more of what I think we do really well, which is the personal stories and engaging off the pitch as well.” 

There will also be a greater push across social content, and Inside The WSL moving to digital as it looks to reach fans where they are. Barker added, “There’s some some fun stuff that’ll be happening across social media that is just building on that platform that’s already there.”

Key to this are the former players who make up the bulk of Sky Sports’ punditry, and who Barker works with on both live presentations as well as the podcast, Three Players And A Podcast. Those same people are the ones pushing the coverage to aim higher, “Izzy [Christiansen], the season when it was announced that Sky had the rights to the WSL and she was still playing, said she wanted the football to be analysed in the way that the Premier League is. The fact that she’s come on board I think is testament to all that we’re doing. She’s seen it, she asked for it and she believes in what we’re doing so much that she wants to come and be part of that analysis.”

Their closeness to the players also helps bring out answers you may not otherwise get. They had a recent visit to Arsenal for a media day. “Jen [Beattie] loves it and everyone loves talking to Jen with a microphone. Leah Williamson getting called out by Jen about a haircut and all these various little asides that they’re making to the players. Jonas Eidevall explaining how he can talk a good game but doesn’t get involved when it comes to playing football in the coaching and training sessions because they’d all laugh at him. We’re getting these insights from players because they feel comfortable.”

She added, “You’re hearing straight from the horse’s mouth about these experiences, about what it’s like to be a player, but also to know that they have a sushi club and they all love going off and doing various things.”

However, it’s not always possible to get as up close and personal with the players, and the live action, with the smaller grounds usually involving a studio presentation. Barker is still keen to make sure the onside experience is matched, explaining that a team WhatsApp group, that includes the entire production, “means that whether you’re there inside the stadium or you’re in the studio, you don’t miss the little bits about, for example, a dancing Chelsea fan who’s decided he’s going to be right down at the front so you might want to get a camera on him because he’s got a homemade sign.”

An example of this came last year. “We had Maria, the brilliant Arsenal fan who sadly passed away, and we saw the Arsenal fans paying their respects to her. Knowing what those banners meant and picking up on that, informed the director to make sure she’s got a camera on that particular flag.”

Overall, this all goes towards Barker and the Sky team’s aim: “Our part comes in that in giving the perfect platform for these amazing sports people to perform, and giving them the level of coverage that they deserve. Within Sky, when we look at the WSL, it’s football. The studio that we occupy, it’s the Monday Night Football studio. The presentation team, the pundits, you see them working across the Premier League, working across the championship. Our commentators, our statisticians, they all work across football. That’s our employer. It’s not the WSL.”

Those people who feature around the football, such as Barker herself, can also be an example to viewers at home. “It’s not just about little girls saying that they can go and perform on the pitch, but seeing that they can be managers, analysts, presenters, whatever they want to do within the football sphere.”

Watch 35 exclusively live Women’s Super League fixtures this season on Sky Sports and NOW, kicking off from 1 October.