A wave of data from Sky Sports, ScreenSkills, and Ampere Analysis reveals a major commercial opportunity hidden in plain sight: women’s sports are cultivating highly engaged, loyal audiences at scale, yet their media rights remain significantly undervalued and underexploited across Europe and beyond. The evidence points to a maturing marketplace where strategic investment, tailored content strategies, and smarter rights packaging could unlock substantial new revenue streams.
According to the Sky Sports and Gemba report “Women’s Sports Fandom,” 80% of UK sports fans now engage with both men’s and women’s sports, and that number rises to 85% among under-35s—a key demographic for long-term growth. The crossover between men’s and women’s sports is particularly strong in football and tennis, where 75% and 77% of fans respectively follow both. These crossover fans are twice as likely to identify as “passionate” sports fans and are significantly more valuable from a commercial standpoint. They are more likely to be paid content subscribers (10% more than fans of only men’s sports), and they consume more media, attend more events, and spend more per capita on merchandise and services.
Despite this growing engagement, media rights revenues lag far behind the growth in fandom. Ampere Analysis underscores this gap in its recent study, noting that although nearly half of all European sports fans (47%) express interest in women’s football, the rights to these matches are often bundled within broader deals or offered without standalone valuations. In key markets such as the UK, Germany, and France, the report found that many top-tier women’s football matches are essentially undervalued or even unmonetized in current rights agreements, diminishing their potential to attract sponsors and investment proportional to audience interest.
This gap is more than a missed opportunity—it is a structural inefficiency. Ampere found that nearly 60% of all European women’s football content is consumed digitally, with a significant share viewed via social platforms, OTT services, and dedicated streaming environments. Younger demographics—particularly Gen Z and millennial women—are driving this trend, with higher levels of engagement per hour watched compared to traditional male-dominated sports audiences. As streaming platforms battle for differentiated content and consumer stickiness, women’s sports represent a high-growth content category that remains relatively underpriced.
The Sky Sports/Gemba report adds that fans of women’s sports report unique emotional drivers, including higher perceptions of authenticity, relatability, inclusivity, and community engagement. These values are driving a new class of sports consumer who is not only loyal, but vocal, digital-first, and increasingly influential. However, the report also reveals a discovery gap: 40% of women’s sports fans say it's difficult to find non-live content such as documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and player stories. More than half of the respondents expressed a desire to access more off-field content that connects them with athletes, indicating a clear opportunity for broadcasters, streaming platforms, and sponsors to build more comprehensive fan engagement strategies.
In this context, storytelling becomes a vital monetization tool. Beyond live match broadcasts, content formats like player-led features, docuseries, training insights, and athlete Q&As offer meaningful engagement touchpoints. Combined with improvements in discoverability, packaging, and promotion, these content layers can help convert casual viewers into long-term subscribers and community members.
Looking ahead, both reports point toward a critical inflection point. As the visibility of women’s sports increases—through tournaments like the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Women’s Super League, and the growing popularity of international competitions—there is mounting pressure on rights holders to reassess how they value, market, and distribute this content. Rights unbundling, direct-to-consumer streaming deals, and targeted advertiser packages are among the strategies being explored to close the value gap.
For media companies, leagues, and sponsors seeking future-ready growth, women’s sports present a rare combination of under-leveraged audience scale, favorable demographic trends, and brand-safe storytelling potential. As Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, CEO of Viaplay Group, recently noted in a separate industry statement, “Long-term sports growth isn’t just about who plays—it’s about how we tell their stories and how easy we make it for people to watch.”
In short, women’s sports are no longer a niche. They are a growth engine—and those who recognize their value early and invest accordingly will be best positioned to lead in a transformed global sports media economy.
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