https://www.foxsports.com.

au/women-in-sport/international-womens-day-2022-growth-of-
womens-sport-market-research-by-fox-sports-tv-audiences-participation/news-story/dbda9
1408a07a9f235f1dcf1bd4025a5

Two thirds (66 per cent) of Australians have tuned in to watch women’s sport on TV while 69
per cent have watched more since the start of the pandemic.

Two-in-five viewers of women’s sport say they have been inspired or considered playing the
sport themselves after watching on TV.

https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-tele
com-predictions/2021/womens-sports-revenue.html

A recent multicountry study found that 66% of people were interested in at least one
women’s sport, and among sports fans (of whom 49% are female), that figure rises to 84%.3

Indeed, the 2019 Women’s World Cup final was more popular among US viewers than the
men’s final in 2018, with the women’s game drawing 22% more audience

A total of 993 million people watched it on TV, with a further 482 million accessing it via
digital platforms. The final alone was watched live by 260 million viewers, including 14.3
million in the United States,

The average live audience per match, at 17.3 million viewers, was more than double the
average 8.4 million viewers per game for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.9
Perhaps surprisingly, the majority (61%) of the viewers were men,10 illustrating women’s
soccer’s broad appeal.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup USA-England semifinal match reinforces these statistics.
In the United Kingdom, 11.7 million people watched the United States beat England in this
game, representing just over half of the total TV audience at that time. This number set a
viewership record for a female football match and made the game the United Kingdom’s
most-watched program in 2019 at that point in the year

In cricket, the opening game of the 2020 ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup, in which
Australia took on India, was watched in India by an average of 3.6 million viewers, with a
total reach of 20 million.17 In India, the first 12 matches of the tournament generated 41
million viewing hours, a 213% increase over the 2018 figure
• In rugby, 2.6 million viewers in the United Kingdom watched the final game of the 2017
Women’s Rugby World Cup.19 According to Nielsen, 56% of the TV audience for this event
was male

• In netball, 550,000 people in the United Kingdom watched the semifinal of the 2019
Netball World Cup.21

The caveat here is that women’s sports’ ability to deliver strong TV ratings is not matched by
its representation in media coverage. For instance, an analysis of 250,000 news articles in
more than 80 languages found that women’s tennis grand slam events received 41% less
coverage than the men’s events.2

when Japan’s team won the football Women’s World Cup in 2011, coverage of the game was
obscured by a large number 7, a reminder to viewers of the number of days left to digital
switchover.2

In the United Kingdom, the BBC reportedly paid €10–12 million for the rights to the
Women’s Euro football competition in 2021 (now 2022) being hosted in England, up from
the €1 million that Channel 4 reportedly paid for the 2017 edition.34

In Spain, the Women’s Association of Football Clubs (ACFF) announced a three-year deal
worth €9 million for the rights to Liga Iberdrola, the first Spanish women’s football
division.40Four of the clubs in ACFF have additional rights to show selected games on their
own video platform

. In November 2019, a record 77,868 fans watched England’s women’s football team lose to
Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium.47 This was slightly more than the 77,277 fans who
attended the England men’s team match against Montenegro in the same month at the
same venue

Barclays agreed to become the title sponsor of the FA WSL. The multi-million-pound
sponsorship deal was the largest-ever investment in UK women’s sports by a brand.

Boots signed a three-year deal to sponsor the women’s national football teams of England,
Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.6
Iberdrola, a Spanish energy company, extended its sponsorship of Spain’s women’s football
league for a further six years.

https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/football/0/steps/6325#:~:text=Registered%20fe
male%20players%3A%20Went%20from,2013)%20to%203%2C572%20(2017)

Girls football: A growth in women’s youth teams from 21,285 (2013) to 35,183 (2017)