Why women’s sport coverage needs to catch up with public interest

Women’s sports are on an indisputable upward trajectory. In 2022, the average viewing time per person for women’s sports more than doubled. Over the longer term, viewers of domestic women’s sports grew in the UK by an average of 5% per year between 2012 and 2021, from 20 million to 33 million. In 2023, women’s sports have built on this momentum and have been breaking viewership records across the board.

Dominating the August headlines, the women’s football world cup drew a record number of fans to stadia and viewers to their screens. According to the BBC, the final reached a peak audience of 12 million viewers on BBC1, higher than the men’s Wimbledon final in July, which peaked at 11.3 million. These figures are an unarguable indicator of the rise of women’s football. Indeed, football and tennis are currently the highest revenue-generating women’s sports in the UK and account for approximately half of the market.

Interest is growing far beyond these sports. At the end of September, the women’s golf Solheim Cup achieved record-breaking viewership of 734,000 on Sky Sports, the highest in history for the event. These figures are closing in on the 785,000 viewers of the men’s equivalent. Women’s mixed martial arts is also a buoyant sport. Female fights only started being hosted by the UFC in 2013. Since then, three of the top ten highest-earning pay-per-view events in UFC history were headlined by female fighters, generating over $190 million in revenue from pay-per-view alone. 

The fact that viewership and attendance records are being smashed again and again for women’s sports is an even greater accomplishment considering the structural decline of live TV viewership. All this momentum has led to forecasts that the commercial value of women’s sports in the UK could reach £1 billion by 2030 (Women’s Sport Trust/Two Circles, “Closing the Visibility Gap”. Refers to revenue from broadcast rights, sponsorship deals and ticket sales).

Despite progress, the gender gap remains

However, coverage of women’s sports accounts for less than a seventh of UK sports coverage on mainstream TV channels, an unfortunate reminder that stark gender imbalances persist in commercial sports.

Last month, the England women’s rugby team was unable to find a broadcaster to show its game against Canada, having been reportedly rejected by both the BBC and ITV, despite being offered at no cost. Therefore, the match was only available for viewers via the Rugby Football Union’s YouTube channel, generating a mere 52,000 views. These disparities will not be remedied organically; broadcasters have a key role in levelling the playing field.

Heads are turning, but now coverage needs to match interest

With the evidence that women’s sports are reaching the crest of the wave, broadcasters must recognise the opportunity in front of them. The sensational interest that is growing towards women’s sports cannot translate into commercial success by relying solely on fans.

Broadcaster hesitation to invest in women’s sport stems from what is, on paper, an economically rational set of considerations. For free-to-air/ad-funded platforms – will we generate enough ad revenue to generate a positive return (relative to other things we could show in the same slot)? For paid platforms – will women’s sport help us to acquire and retain subscribers? Will viewership of our existing (men’s) content be cannibalised?

But in considering these questions, broadcasters and streaming platforms often focus on immediate returns, rather than the value that could be created long-term with adequate investment. There is a clear and virtuous circle around investment in women’s sport. Investment by mainstream broadcasters increases reach. Greater reach will bring in more direct consumer spend (for example, from matchday attendance and merchandise sales), and will also make properties more attractive to sponsors. More funding from all of these sources will enable rightsholders to invest in talent and create a more compelling spectacle for audiences. The flywheel is clear – it simply needs to be kick-started in many cases.

The Solheim Cup is one example of this working in practice. It is eminently possible to see a similar degree of engagement with a women’s sporting property as the men’s equivalent, and hence derive a similar level of commercial value from it – but only if fans are given the opportunity.

This is not a short-term investment by any means – but if broadcasters are willing to commit, it could take the value of women’s sport to well beyond the £1bn currently projected, and bring sport closer to gender parity in every sense.

Duncan Maud is an associate partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants