Media Coverage In Women's Sport

At the moment people are discussing the importance of media coverage in women’s sport and whether or not it is sufficient. For many years the media has been dominated by men’s sport in not only television, but also the radio and more recently on the internet. Many people that are ‘for’ this statement believe that equalling the amount of sport in the media is not needed due to it not being as interesting as men and that there are not as many women that play sport compared to men. On the other hand people that are ‘against’ this statement are stating that it will encourage girls or other women to take part in sports and that it helps to create a more equal society. In Australia’s sports coverage it showed that over the television stations ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and Ten the overall coverage of women’s sport is only 7.4% compared to men’s 81.1%. This shows the lack of equality in sport, but is that because the media
coverage of women’s sport in Australia is already sufficient?
People believe that coverage of women’s sport is sufficient enough because women do not engage in sport as much as men. ” I think in proportion there are far more men in sport than women so there it is obvious that the men’s sports would get more coverage” “I guess because women don’t ( I assume) play as many sports as men so the media does not have a great deal to comment on.” (Onepoll.com, 2014). These statements show that many people believe that there is no need to increase media coverage because there are far more men in sport than there are women. A survey conducted in 2012 named ‘Participants in sport and physical recreation’ shows that in 2012 from ages 15-17, men had a higher rate in sports participation with 85.1% compared to women who had 70.3%.

Many people also believe that the media coverage of women’s sport is sufficient due to factors such as it is not as entertaining as men’s sport; therefore people feel there is no need to cover it more. “Most people want to watch the best sports persons, perform at the highest level.” “Yes I would happily watch a game of women's rugby, much as I would happily watch a game of schoolboy rugby, but I would pay more money to watch the top athletes the rugby world can produce play rugby at the highest level, which for the foreseeable future will all be men” (Economist.com, 2014). This statement shows that people already believe there is enough media coverage. The fact that men are naturally more muscular, stronger and faster than women, apparently make women’s sport less appealing to audiences. People want to watch quality matches, and many think that men are of a higher standard than women.
However, as much as there are people that agree that women’s media coverage in sport is already sufficient, there are many that disagree with this statement for reasons such as it will help young girls to engage in sport.
“More young girls may wish to take up sport if they realise that it is recognised” “Promotion of professional women’s sport to increase engagement with it and encourage young women to participate” (Onepoll.com, 2014). These statements show that a lot of people believe that if we increase media coverage of women’s sport it will help encourage young girls to get more involved and if it’s not recognised then young girls will not be exposed to the world of sport. A survey conducted in 2012 named ‘CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN ORGANISED SPORT’ show that from ages 5-8 females have a lower participation rate in organised sports with a percentage of 50.1%, compared to men’s 61.4%. These statistics show that young girls are not as into sports as young boys and many people believe that equalling media coverage will open up young girls’ minds about
sport.
People also believe that media coverage of women’s sport is not sufficient due to the obvious difference in coverage compared to men’s sport, which is evident in previous paragraphs. Many people believe if sports networks were to increase their media coverage of women’s sport, then it would create a more equal society. “In this age of equality it is only fair that men’s and women’s sport should get the same amount of coverage in the media” (Onepoll.com, 2014). It was found that on average news broadcasters finished talking about women’s sport 30 seconds before men’s sport. This statistic shows that media coverage of women’s sport in Australia is not sufficient because female athletes are still not seen as equal and professionals, and still are thought of as less important than men.
It is evident there are valid points for both arguments as to whether or not equal media coverage of women’s sport is sufficient. Many saying that it is sufficient due to the lack of females getting involved and sport mainly consists of men. However, many argue that equalling media coverage will show young girls the world of sport and how they can get involved. Looking at all these points it has become evident that the ‘against’ point of view outweighs the ‘for’ point of view.