The pandemic has sent shockwaves through women’s sport, but there is also potential for this to be a huge step forward – now is a time for bravery and greater commitment, not shrinking back into old habits. The media talk a good game, but in reality, they are still unsupportive
Women’s sport was riding high – high on participation, high on viewers, high on results. And then came coronavirus. And now, reports state that all that progress might have been stalled by up to four years. All that momentum, those records broken, quelled in a matter of months.
Not only is that a painful acknowledgment for all female athletes, advocates and fans – but over the past few months, as coronavirus has brought our world as we knew it to a grinding halt, what has been laid bare is that the ‘default’ in these testing times, has been men. Men’s sport still spearheads the narrative and takes priority in the competition calendar and indeed; money talks.
Women’s sport has been shunted to the side-lines, or worse still, back on the bench until further notice. Scheduling congestion raises questions over when women’s sport will even return to the global stage; there are only so many slots, and already the fight is on for broadcast airtime and calendar space.
The international game in women’s sport – unlike the men’s Premier League, Premiership Rugby or NBA or NFL in America – is the only one that generally spikes media attention. With the Women’s Euros already pushed back to 2022, this means that the best female footballers in the world aren’t going to see any prolonged exposure for another two years.
Away from the international stage, the women’s domestic seasons are seeing a similar, second-class treatment. The FA terminated the WSL at the end of last month with immediate effect, while the Premier League returned to our screens this week – a pattern we are seeing mirrored in leagues and competitions around the world.
In order for women’s sport to prosper in the future, we must bridge that gap between the international and domestic leagues. In order to do that, there needs to be a far greater step change from the media to achieve the required groundswell to support significant transformation in public perceptions. As things stand (pre-coronavirus) women’s sport claims a mere 4% of broadcast media airtime in the UK – assigning a staggering 96% to men’s sport.
Since the lockdown, the BBC have been showing re-runs of major sporting events. They’ve shown England men lose to Croatia in football, as well as twice in hockey, but no sign of the GB Gold medal match for the women – and that was unreal entertainment. In a time of great need for positivity, we are still being shown the men losing over the women winning. And herein lies the problem – the media talk of wanting to back women’s sport, but in reality, they continue to be unsupportive.
With female sport evaporating from our TV screens, it is crucial that women’s sport does not become ‘out of sight; out of mind’ for sponsors, fans and participants alike.
The media has a huge role to play to inspire young girls to play sport, to look on in awe and dream of one day pulling on the Lionesses jersey. Steph Hilborne, CEO of Women In Sport, noted ‘it is the visibility of women’s sport that helps to inform the expectations that girls have for their lives.’
One opportunity for women’s sport in the short term is to utilise alternative platforms. We no longer need rely on traditional media, instead women’s sport can utilise technology to serve up content to fans. There is opportunity to utilise OTT, Twitch and YouTube to increase accessibility and visibility to content. But if sponsorship and sustainability gap gains are to be achieved in the long term – traditional media still has one of the most crucial roles to play.
But it is not just female athletes disappearing from the media sphere – women’s sport was dealt a further blow this week with the announcement of Promote PR closing its doors after 26 years. At the helm is Sue Anstiss – MBE for her services to grassroots and women’s sport. The effect of coronavirus is not just eradicating female athletes from our screens, but also the voices that tell their story and steer the women’s sport narrative.
While women’s sport might not be getting the column inches in traditional media nor airtime on television screens, it is vital that female athletes use their voice on social media to keep a presence at this time. To keep inspiring the next generation of female athletes, to keep fans engaged, to remind brands why they invested in women’s sport to begin with – and crucially, to motivate investment in the women’s sport of tomorrow.
Victoria Monk is Senior Communications Manager at ESA member CSM Sport & Entertainment | @Viki_Monk