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Today, there is more and more interest in women’s athletes. That’s because of changes in society, societal norms, attitudes about women in sports and the Olympics. As a result, reported Femled News, the media coverage has also been changing. If society is interested in women’s sports, diversity in sports and breaking stereotypes when it comes to female athletes, then that is what the media will cover.
Why the sudden popularity?
As you can imagine, sports have typically been male-centric. Recently, however, female athletes have been challenging the norm and their followers couldn't be happier. Femled News explains that this has inspired an interest in women’s sports. A study, they quote, found that 84 percent of sports fans are interested in women’s sports. That’s huge!
Perhaps the media is responsible for the sudden popularity, or maybe it’s the other way round. Either way, major news platforms like CBS Sports and ESPN have increased the number of women’s sports being broadcasted, according to The Nielsen Media Company, as has the number of viewers. The increased interest in women’s sports is rapidly growing, and they believe it is because sponsors, brands and broadcasters have been choosing to prioritize and invest in women’s sports.
Women in the 2024 Summer Olympics
This year, gender equality in sports will be palpable. According to the Olympics’s website, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Pralympics will be the first time in history to have an equal number of male and female athletes participating. In their efforts towards ensuring gender equality in this year’s Games, France, the host, has chosen a woman’s face for its emblem.
Equality involves visibility, which is made possible mainly by the media coverage the event will get. 3 billion people are expected to be watching this year’s Games, reports UN Women, and the coverage of the event is being scheduled with the mindset of ensuring equality and balance. The goal is to give equal opportunity, equal visibility and equal possibility of women winning medals. An event as big as the Olympics will hopefully set the bar and expectations of equality for women in sports in other events and across the board.
The future of women’s sports
So will the trend continue to rise? What does the future of women’s sports and media coverage of women’s sports hold? Of course, it is difficult to predict with complete accuracy. However, Forbes reports that it makes sense to assume it will. In 2022, women’s sports received 15 percent of media coverage average share, and if the current growth rate continues, it will be close to 20 percent by 2025.
Women’s sports, both professional and college, will continue to expand. Streaming services along with social media outlets will most likely continue to help bring the current and new fans the sports content they want to see. This rise is also encouraging more young girls to participate in playing sports and joining sports teams to begin with.
There are so many benefits that these girls are getting for playing sports, not only for their physical health but also their mental health, leadership skills and social lives. They are directing themselves towards a path of continued success. Who knew that investing in women’s sports, participating in them and even watching them can have such an important impact on the world?
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