UK data illustrates growing interest in women’s sports for domestic and global competitions

The GIST: Last week, UK research group Women’s Sports Trust published a report illustrating how 2024 interest in women’s sports UK audiences has grown for both domestic and international properties. In an increasingly intertwined sports landscape — especially in women’s soccer — these insights are meaningful for marketers at home and abroad. Let’s dive in.

🌎 Interest was steady even without large events. While tourneys like the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympics are proven audience-drivers, the UK saw 44.7M viewers tune into non-tentpole women’s sports events in 2024 — its most-watched year ever. When women’s events at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics are included, UK audiences consumed a whopping 564M hours.

🎾🏀 Tennis and basketball are big for UK fans. Even though the WNBA and WTA are U.S.–based, the report shows a sizable audience forming across the pond. The tennis tour’s YouTube channel accumulated 71M views last year, while the WNBA led among women’s sports in TikTok views (361M) and Instagram engagements (90M).

⚽ However, nothing can compete with the nation’s love of soccer. It’s well-established that England loves footy — attendance and viewership continues to rise on the women’s side. Chelsea’s women’s team epitomizes that interest in the game, garnering 167M TikTok views — more than any other women’s sports team’s TikTok channel.

• Chelsea’s visibility is good for marketers to keep in mind, especially as the club pulled off the massive signing of USWNT star Naomi Girma. Girma has endorsement deals with Nike, Kaiser Permanente, and Siete Foods, all of which are getting additional play on the team’s popular TikTok account.

📱 Women athletes are marketing mavens. Women were responsible for 61% of all TikTok views among SportsPro’s 50 most marketable athletes in the world, and UK stars are becoming bona fide sports influencers. The UK athlete with the most TikTok views was BMX rider Charlotte Worthington, followed by track stars Lina and Laviai Nielsen and WSL players Mary Earps and Ella Toone.

• Plus, WSL athletes played well over Instagram last year: Lucy Bronze had more engagements than any other player in the league, while 35% of all WSL engagements on the platform came from player accounts — more than the EPL’s 27% player engagement rate across its top four franchises. Loud and clear.