TikTok reveals Women’s Six Nations content plan

TikTok has unveiled its plans for the Women’s Six Nations, which begins this weekend.

The competition, which is being aired by the BBC in the UK, will receive similar coverage on TikTok to the recently completed men’s tournament - with the social media platform now the Women’s Six Nations’ first ever title partner. This includes the official #SixNationsRugby Search Hub, which will show match highlights, training ground footage, fan reactions, creator content and more.

In addition, the TikTok community will be encouraged to take part, with bespoke challenges, including using exclusive archive footage to create their own videos using the Split Screen and Duet tools on the platform.

Creators will also be involved, from Jemma Norton (@theproplife)’s behind-the-scenes content, to Amy Humphries (@rugbywithamy)’s rugby hacks and relatable sketches. 

TikTok sports marketing lead for EMEA, Harley O’Dell, explained to Broadcast Sport that creators will be embedded in camps. “Access has been given to TikTok to go to training camps and similar, so this has been handed onto creators identified by ourselves and the Unions.”

He added that the Search Hub will have API integration for fixtures and results thanks to Sage’s recent partnership with the Six Nations, and that TikTok’s partnership, “is about inserting rugby into the broader social conversation. For example, rugby’s angle on food and culture with #rugbyfoodmania in the past. 

“We want to show what does it take to be a professional athlete. Showing the person behind the player and reducing the barriers to entry for players to make content.”

Authenticity is key to how the sport will be marketed, O’Dell said, “We want to cover mental health issues as much as the sport’s successes.”

Rich Waterworth, general manager for operations Europe, said: “As the first title partner of the Women’s Six Nations, we are incredibly proud of our continued partnership with the competition. It has been fantastic to watch the growth of the women’s rugby community on TikTok over the past year, with the #womensrugby hashtag now standing at more than 400M views.

“Our creators have played a key role in building this community, spotlighting all aspects of the game and sharing their rugby journeys in an authentic and inspiring way. This year we want to continue playing our part in raising the profile of the women’s game and making it even more visible to a global audience.”

In addition to the sport, the Swipe Out Hate campaign also returns with the aim of protecting rugby fans on TikTok from those who spread hate and division. To elevate Swipe Out Hate even further, Union captains will front the campaign alongside TikTok creators for the first time, explaining what respect and sportsmanship means to them and sharing how people can report hateful content. The campaign will also appear on billboards around the stadiums and in print and online.