Fans spending more time than ever watching WSL matches, says Women's Sport Trust

Fans in the United Kingdom are dedicating more time to watching Women's Super League (WSL) matches than ever before, and there is a growing audience for women's sports, an analysis by the Women's Sport Trust and Futures Sport & Entertainment showed on Thursday.

The WSL saw a record average audience of 40 minutes per match in the 2023-24 season, a year-on-year increase of 11%, according to the Women's Sport Trust figures.

Sky television audiences watched an average of 43 minutes per match -- a 26% increase year-on-year -- and BBC One audiences watched an average of 47 minutes -- an 18% increase and the highest of all broadcasters.

WSL teams have also had greater exposure and Chelsea had the highest broadcast reach, with 18 of their 22 league matches broadcast in the season and reaching 17.5 million viewers.

The WSL champions are followed by Manchester City with 15.8 million viewers and Arsenal with 15.4 million.

A record 22.6 million people watched more than three minutes of women's sports between January and May 2024 -- surpassing the previous record of 22.0 million during the same period in 2023. Football, rugby and cricket had the largest audiences.

The Rugby Women's Six Nations broadcast had a record 8.1 million viewers watching for three minutes or more, a 33% increase on 2023.

"Fans have more information and choice than ever before and women's sport has to compete with wider entertainment properties for visibility and cultural relevance," Women's Sport Trust Chief Executive Tammy Parlour said.

"While the success of a country, team or player plays a huge role in keeping fans engaged, the industry needs to continue to drive interest through greater prominence, cross promotion and adapting marketing to appeal to the unique nature of the different fan behaviours within women's sport." REUTERS