For many years, the sports world has been a male-dominated industry. However, recently there has been an upshot in viewership of women’s sports games. In 2023, a record-breaking total of 46.7 million viewers were tuned in, and the average viewing time skyrocketed to 10 hours and seven minutes, an overall 16% increase, according to medriva.com.
Not only did television viewership see a change, but in-person attendance at female sports events jumped from 2.1 million to 2.6 million in 2023 alone. In some cases, stadiums and venues were being completely sold out, further contributing to the growing popularity of women’s sports, according to sportsbusinessjournal.com.
A multitude of factors have played a role in this uprising, such as social media presence. Particularly on the social media platform TikTok, short-form content featuring the “Women’s Super League” has reached a large demographic of young girls, which boosted viewership across the board, according to medriva.com.
Perhaps the most renowned player of this resurgence of women’s sports is Caitlin Clark. She previously played basketball for the University of Iowa, breaking multiple NCAA records and earning titles such as Big Ten Player of the Year, 2024 National Player of the Year and Iowa’s all-time leading scorer. She recently made her WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever, scoring 21 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals, according to hawkeyesports.com.
Additionally, it has been found that families who are largely involved in sports as well as having more women present in the home were more likely to watch women’s sports. However, how women are perceived in comparison to a man’s role in society also contributes to how likely someone is to watch women’s sports games. For instance, those who thought women were inferior were less likely to consume women’s sports media, according to news.osu.edu.
The data that is continuing to collect surrounding the viewership of women’s sports assists in creating successful marketing campaigns and building a larger regular audience, overall contributing to higher commercial success, according to news.osu.edu.