Australians watch more women's sports, why?

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If you put women's sports on TV, people will watch them. In fact, people want to watch. Yes, you read that right. A study indicates that more people than ever are watching them on their screens. Which is the reason?



Certainly women have faced many challenges throughout history; and sport has been one of them. Before they were not even allowed to watch the Olympic games; and when allowed in, women had to undergo gender testing to make sure they weren't men trying to game the system.



To these situations we should add the gender Changsha Mobile Number List stereotypes that abound about women's sports: boring and unprofitable compared to men's sports. It is common for these issues to justify the salary gap with the lack of audiences and sponsorships. Situations that make women's sports invisible and condemn them to a secondary option.



women in baseball

We have a cultural assessment that men's sports are more important than women's sports.



Jane McManus, director of the Marist Sports Communication Center.

As recently as 1990, there was coverage that routinely trivialized, insulted, and sexualized female athletes. By 2014, that framework had faded and in its place was an attempt at a more "respectful" framing of women's sports that was presented in a "boring, uninflected manner" that researchers call soft gender sexism .



Women's sports gain popularity

A recent USC/Purdue University study published in March 2021 found that women's sports are almost completely excluded from television news and sports highlights. So why do people seek them out?



Following the pandemic, a survey by pay television network Foxtel has revealed that almost 70% of Australians watch more women's sports now than before 2020.



The study by YouGov found that 66% of Australians have watched women's sports on television and 69% have watched more since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.



The results also show that women's sports are gaining ground among the male public. 72% of men reported consuming women's sports. According to Foxtel, men now make up two-thirds of the overall audience in Australian Football League Women's (AFLW), National Women's Rugby League (NRLW) and Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) competitions.



However, the case of the Australians has not been the only one. The North Jersey sports newspaper also noted a 500% increase in television viewership.



In early 2021, the three-game Women's College World Series championship series between Oklahoma and Florida State averaged 1.84 million viewers on ESPN, up 15% from 2019. More people watched the Game 2 of that series than the Islanders-Bruins NHL playoff game on NBCSN that same day.



women in sports

Equality in sports media

But what are these changes in the consumption of women's sports due to? 56% of Australian respondents cited increased media coverage of women's competitions, while 49% cited quality broadcast coverage.



While North Jersey refers to a demand from audiences to give more coverage to women and sports related to them.



What you have now is that you can see people through social media saying that they are interested in women's sports.



Jane McManus.

The truth is that the statements of the respondents are related to the USC/Purdue University study . In its latest study, in 2019 it claims that 95% of total television coverage, as well as ESPN highlights, show that SportsCenter focused on men's sports.



women's sports

Women's sports continue to receive little attention, which is important when considering the bigger picture of girls' and women's efforts to achieve equal opportunities, resources, pay, and respect in sports.



Messner, professor of sociology and gender studies at USC Dornsife College.

In fact, UNESCO has underlined the relevance of sports coverage. The media has the ability to balance representation and challenge outdated norms and stereotypes. In transmissions there is a notable gap. It infers that female athletes only receive 4% of media coverage despite making up 40% of all athletes.



Social activism

Continuing with the results of the USC/Purdue University study, it points out that social movements and the current zeitgeist for equality and diversity could be the turning point for women's sports.