Shields v Marshall becomes most watched women’s sport event ever on Sky

Claressa Shields’ victory over Savannah Marshall to become undisputed middleweight world champion at the O2 on 15 October was the most watched women’s sport event ever on Sky. 

Over two million viewers tuned into the bout, which saw Shields win via unanimous decision, 96-94, 97-93, 97-93. A peak audience of one million watched what was the first ever all-female boxing event televised in the UK and Ireland. Sky Sports’ coverage was simulcast on Sky Showcase, meaning households without a Sky Sports subscription could also watch.

Sky Sports and Boxxer presented the event, which also had millions more watching the build-up and action across Sky Sports Boxing YouTube and Sky Sports TikTok live streams - which streamed four undercard fights including Top Rank’s Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner. 

In addition, 35% of tickets sold for the sell-out event were bought by women, well over the usual amount, and almost 40% of those that watched at home were women – well above the normal average for a fight night on Sky Sports. 45,000 people took part in the new interactive Viewer’s Verdict feature on the Sky Sports App, which allowed users to to score cards and take part in polls on the night.

Jonathan Licht, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “What a amazing night! This was a pivotal moment not just for women’s boxing but the sport as a whole. To know that such a large audience tuned in at home to see these fights – in addition to a sell-out crowd at The O2 - shows the interest and potential for the sport.

“At Sky Sports we have been working for years to give our elite female fighters the stage they deserve, and this is only the beginning. Congratulations to all the fighters that took to the ring on Saturday – you made history. It is one year since we entered into our partnership with Boxxer and Top Rank and we are delighted that we have seen some of the most watched nights in our history.”

Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom said: “It was a historic event. We staged something many thought wasn’t possible and it will go down in the history books. We hope it has set the stage for what is to come. Thank you to Sky for their unwavering support for women’s sport and boxing. From a standing start, in just 12 months our partnership has achieved so much already and Saturday night culminated in a record breaking event.

“We want Boxxer to be a force for good within boxing and have a positive impact on redefining the sport for its long-term health and success as our fighters and events inspire future generations.  For women’s sport this was truly iconic and we want to thank everyone involved and, of course, the fighters. We can now look forward to an extremely bright future and carry such positive momentum into the rest of the year with some huge fight nights ahead.”

Sky Sports has seen growth in its women’s sport viewers recently, including record audiences for the Women’s Super League. Elsewhere, England’s victory over Germany in the final of the Women’s Euros saw 17.5 million tune in. 

The next fight on Sky Sports will be headlined by Natasha Jonas world title unification fight with Maire-Eve Dicaire on 12 November in Manchester.