A study from Fox Sports has revealed the growing popularity of women’s sport, with 66% of Australians having watched women’s sport broadcasts, particularly from data surrounding Super Netball, AFLW, NRLW, and WBBL.

Notably, 56% of Australians said the growth of media coverage on women’s sporting events and athletes led to increased broadcast views, and 49% of Australians said they watched more women’s sport due to dedicated broadcast coverage.

Among the findings, Fox Sports identified key highlights including:

• 69% of Australians who changed their viewing habits since pre-COVID-19 pandemic, increased their viewership of women’s sport
• 90% of Australians who admitted their opinion of women’s sports has changes said it was in a positive way
• 72% of males watch women’s sports broadcasts and make up two-thirds of the audience which watch the AFLW, NRLW, and WBBL specifically
• 40% of Australians were inspired or considered playing a sport after watching women’s sport
• Millennials ranked as the generation consuming the highest amount of women’s sport content each week

Discussing the growth of women’s sport for Fox Sports, Foxtel Group chief content and commercial officer, Amanda Laing, said the research coincides with the Foxtel Group’s launch of ‘Game Changer’, a new annual report detailing the progress of women’s and underrepresented sports in Australia.

“With more than 2.4 million sports subscribers across our brands, the Foxtel Group is passionate about giving Australia’s biggest women’s sports and the stellar athletes that front them a platform for growth,” Laing said.

“There is no doubt 2022 is going to be a year of radical transformation in popularity and participation.

“As women’s sport across different codes goes from strength to strength, it’s clear that Australians have a huge appetite for watching great sport regardless of whether it is being played by men or women.

“With greater exposure comes more fans, more sponsorship, and more attendance for the sports which we partner with, ultimately strengthening a sport by providing stronger revenue.

“The Foxtel Group is proud to be working to help deliver these benefits to women’s sport in Australia, broadcasting more than 4,700 hours of women’s sport across 15 different codes and 24 competitions, and this is just the beginning with more investment to come,” she said.

Among the data, Fox Sports also revealed New South Wales delivers the largest viewership numbers of women’s sport across Australia.