Record Viewership of Women’s Sport in the UK in 2023

A recent research conducted by the Women’s Sport Trust (WST) revealed record TV viewership for women’s sport in the UK in the first four months of 2023. The 40.1 million unique viewers in 2022 could soon become a thing of the past given the current figures.

According to the research, 20.6 million viewers, an increase of 1.7 million from the previous year, watched at least three minutes of women’s sport on TV between 1st January and 30th April 2023. One of the most impressive milestones was the Women’s Six Nations Championship, with 10.4 million viewing hours.

This is more than three million higher than the previous best of 7.7 million in 2021.

Notably, 42 per cent of the viewers were female, compared to 37 per cent the previous year. The research also revealed that the Women’s Super League (WSL) saw a significant 36 per cent season–on–season increase in match audiences. 15.3 million UK viewers have watched at least three minutes of the WSL live on TV, well above the 14.6 million during the 2021/22 season.

Soccer’s Arnold Clark Cup was also a hit, with 4.6 million people watching three minutes or more, up 1.5 million from the previous year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup also had a record–breaking 7.11 million live TV viewing hours, outstripping in 2018 edition by more than 1.3 million. England’s matches for the tournament averaged 150,000 viewers per game, an increase of 12,000 fans from 2020.

Commenting on these impressive figures, WST chief executive Tammy Parlour said, “The unstoppable rise of women’s sport is again illustrated by these record–breaking figures. It is hugely encouraging to see that a number of sports, including football, rugby union and cricket, are attracting record audiences in the first four months of 2023.” This summer, fans of women’s sport in England will have the chance to continue supporting their teams with the Women’s Ashes and the FIFA Women’s World Cup both taking place.

There’s no doubt that we’ll continue to see more records break as women’s sport continues to rise in popularity and viewership.

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