Over the past decade, we have noticed that women’s sports have managed to attract the attention of many spectators. A significant increase in interest has also been noted in the female athletes and that interest is here to stay.
Women's Sports
With the increased popularity of women's sports also came an increased interest in betting on those sports. The Betfair offer for new customers allows newly registered bettors to claim free bets that they can use on many different sports, including the extremely popular women's sports.
Overall Interest in Women’s Sports
Women's sports are in the spotlight now more than ever and they are slowly catching up to men's sports. In many sports, equal pay has been agreed upon, new and better media deals have been signed, and some of them have even managed to attract record audiences onto the stadiums.
All of this is very pleasing to hear, but a recent survey brings in even better news for women’s sports. This survey was made across eight key sports markets from around the world and found out that 84% of all sports fans have shown interest in women’s sports.
Of the interesting sports fans, 51% were male, which shows that women's sports provide a gender-balanced audience.
The same survey has found that 45% of the general population across the eight key markets would consider attending a women’s sporting event. Also, 46% revealed that they would watch more women’s sports if it was made accessible on free TV.
Of those who said that they weren’t interested in women’s sports, 38% revealed that they hadn’t watched a women’s sporting event yet, but could be interested.
Women’s Sports Are a Good Investment
When it comes to commercial growth in women's sports, the interested brands should know that three-quarters of those individuals who are interested in women's sports are able to name at least one brand that is involved in women's sports.
Also, 63% of the surveyed people have said that they believe that the brands should consider investing in both men's and women's sports.
Attributes associated with women's sports show numerous values that brands should seek to cooperate with. More specifically, the respondents look at women's sports as less money-drive, more inspiring and progressive, cleaner and more family-oriented when compared to men's sports.
Most Popular Women’s Sports
The majority of sports that are considered the most popular in the women's sporting world are also the most widely watched sports in the men's version. Below we will mention a few of the most popular women's sports.
Football
In November 2021, the National Women’s Soccer League title game average a record 525,000 viewers, which is an increase of 216% when compared to the 2019 game.
Earlier this year, an agreement was reached between the NSWL and the player's association where the minimum salaries would be increased by 160%.
The star players are also getting a massive increase in their salary. Trinity Robinson, a Washington Spirit player and 2021 Rookie of the Year, has clinched a 4-year deal worth $1.1 million.
It is worth mentioning that at the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, 91,000 spectators attended the match. That was and still is, the most attended women's football game of all time, which is also a staggering number even for men's football.
Basketball
Women's basketball is another major women's sport that is attracting many spectators and many investors. We must also mention the WNBA, which is the biggest women's basketball league in the world and has been around for 26 seasons.
Last year was WNBA's most-watched season since 2008, with the viewership showing a yearly increase of 51%. In February this year, WNBA announced that they had managed to raise $75 million from investors with the purpose of further developing the league and increasing the players' salaries.
Tennis
Women's tennis was already popular in the past, but it has reached a new high in recent years. Last year's US Open final between Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu averaged a viewership of 2.4 million.
Just to compare, the Men's Finals between Novak Djokovic and Daniel Medved has averaged 2.1 million viewers.
Additionally, Serena Williams' final match at the US Open averaged 2.4 million viewers, which is the most watched tennis match in history.
Horse Racing
Over the years, there have been several famous women jockeys that have made a name for themselves. But, nowadays we can notice that there is a much bigger interest for women riders in horse racing events.
Between 2015 and 2019, the racing events won by female jockeys in Britain have been increased by 76%.
Tagged in Women's Sport