​Comment: Broadcast insights reveal steady growth of women’s sport

On the back of a year that saw Keely Hodgkinson become the fourth consecutive female winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year, it’s clear that 2024 has been another significant building block for women’s sport. The latest annual report from the Women’s Sport Trust, which includes broadcast insight from Futures Sport & Entertainment, reveals exciting, positive trends —but it also highlights the need for continued action and greater investment.

In 2024, women’s sport in the UK, excluding global tournaments, reached its most-watched year ever, with a staggering 44.7 million viewers—surpassing the previous record of 37.6 million in 2022. When we include coverage of women’s events at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, total viewing hours across all channels for women’s sport shot up to an impressive 564 million. The number of viewers watching two or more hours of women’s sport reached a new high, with 22.9 million viewers surpassing 2022’s 21.7 million. Additionally, despite coverage hours for all women’s sport on key channels remaining at 8%, 15% of sports viewing hours on key channels were for women’s sport, up from 10% in 2023.

However, we cannot ignore the gaps that still exist. While 2024 marks a new record for domestic women’s sport viewers, the broader picture—including global tournaments like the Women’s Football World Cup and Cricket World Cup—reveals that 2023 still edges ahead with 46.7 million viewers compared to 45.2 million in 2024.

A key factor at play was the absence of the Lionesses from an international tournament which impacted total viewing hours and average viewing time. Excluding the summer events in Paris, total viewing hours dropped from 383 million in 2023 to just 164 million in 2024, and average viewing time per person fell from 10 hours and 7 minutes to 5 hours and 47 minutes. This should serve as a reminder: while women’s sport is thriving, it is still too reliant on a few major events, especially football, to sustain its momentum.

But the true state of progress is found in the details. Compared to 2021— the last year that England’s women weren’t competing in a major football tournament—the growth is clear. Average viewing time per person has increased by two hours, demonstrating that the women’s sport ecosystem is expanding, even outside of major football events.

Sky (including Sky Sports and Sky Showcase) led the coverage in 2024, providing 61% of the total coverage hours and 34% of the viewing hours for women’s sport. Free-to-air broadcasters BBC (37%) and ITV (24%) made up the majority of viewing hours. Football accounted for 55% of women’s sports viewing hours (down from 74% in 2023), with cricket rising to 25% (up from 15% in 2023), and rugby union accounting for 11%.

But the growth of women’s sport, globally is not limited to broadcast, with leading leagues and federations experiencing remarkable engagement across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

WTA Tour generated 71 million views on YouTube in 2024, while the WNBA led TikTok views (361 million) and Instagram engagements (90 million). Chelsea WFC achieved a global milestone, amassing a staggering 167 million TikTok views—more than any other women’s club team on a dedicated women’s only TikTok account worldwide. This success comes despite their account being launched only a year ago, with the club having the same resource for the women’s social publishing team as they do for the men’s team.

Our research also highlights the powerful influence of female athletes on social media. When combining the cumulative Instagram engagements from clubs and their players, 35% of total engagements across the WSL came from player accounts, significantly higher than the 27% engagement rate seen in the Premier League across four leading clubs.

Globally, female athletes also continue to dominate the digital space. In 2024, female athletes accounted for 61% of all TikTok views among the world’s 50 most marketable athletes.

Looking ahead, 2025 promises to be an exciting year for women’s sport, with key events like the Women’s Euros, the Women’s Rugby World Cup (hosted in England), a summer of domestic and international cricket, and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in the fall. The expansion of Barclays Women’s Super League coverage on BBC, Sky, and YouTube for the 2025-26 season also sets the stage for more growth.

As the report highlights, there remain key growth areas for women’s sport in 2025, including innovative distribution models, converting men’s sports fans, building women’s only sport audiences and better engaging youth audiences and ethnically diverse viewers.

With our research showing that just 6% of sport programming in primetime slots was dedicated to women’s sport in 2024, we will continue to advocate for broadcasters to increase visibility for women’s sport.

We need more. We demand more. Women’s sport has proven its worth and its appeal, and now it’s time for the industry to truly invest in it. Let’s continue pushing for the visibility and recognition women’s sport deserves. The momentum is there, but we need sustained action and commitment to make sure it doesn’t stall.

Tammy Parlour is CEO and co-founder of Women’s Sport Trust