Why Women's Soccer Gets Less Media Coverage Than Men's

The Stark Reality of Coverage Disparity

Despite the remarkable growth of women's soccer in recent decades, media coverage remains dramatically skewed toward men's soccer. Research consistently shows that women's sports receive only a small fraction of sports media attention, with women's soccer often receiving less than five percent of total soccer coverage in many countries. This disparity persists even as women's soccer demonstrates increasing skill levels, growing fan bases, and impressive commercial viability.

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup drew over one billion viewers globally, with the final between the United States and Netherlands attracting 82 million viewers in the United States alone. Yet in the weeks following this historic tournament, coverage quickly returned to heavily favoring men's soccer. Understanding why this disparity exists requires examining historical, economic, cultural, and structural factors that perpetuate inequality in sports media representation.

Historical Context and Legacy Barriers

Women's soccer history differs dramatically from men's across most countries. Men's professional leagues were established in the early twentieth century, building infrastructure, fan bases, and media relationships over more than a hundred years. Women's soccer faced active suppression in many countries during this period. England's Football Association famously banned women from playing on association grounds from 1921 to 1971, claiming the sport was unsuitable for women.

This fifty-year ban effectively prevented women's soccer from developing during football's formative growth period. Similar barriers existed worldwide, with organized women's soccer not emerging until the 1960s and 1970s in most countries. Professional women's leagues are even more recent, with many top leagues launching in the 1990s or 2000s, giving them decades less time to develop compared to men's counterparts.

These historical disadvantages created path dependency, where early establishment advantages compound over time. Men's soccer developed extensive media relationships, broadcasting infrastructure, and ingrained viewing habits when television sports coverage emerged. By the time women's soccer gained legitimacy, these patterns were deeply entrenched, creating structural barriers to equal coverage beyond simple bias.

Media organizations built their sports departments around covering established men's leagues, hiring journalists with expertise in men's soccer, developing relationships with men's clubs and leagues, and creating production workflows optimized for men's games. Pivoting to provide equal coverage requires organizational restructuring, additional resources, and disruption of established practices, creating institutional inertia resisting change.

Economic Factors and Revenue Cycles

Media coverage decisions are heavily influenced by economic considerations. Broadcasting rights for major men's soccer leagues command billions of dollars, while women's league rights sell for a fraction of those amounts. The English Premier League's domestic broadcasting rights alone exceed two billion pounds per season, while the Women's Super League rights represent a tiny percentage of that figure.

This massive revenue disparity influences coverage decisions through multiple mechanisms. Media organizations that pay huge sums for men's broadcasting rights need to maximize return on investment through extensive coverage promoting their broadcasts. Networks dedicating significant budgets to men's soccer rights naturally prioritize covering those investments over women's soccer for which they've paid little or nothing.

Advertising rates reflect and reinforce these disparities. Advertisers pay premium rates for men's soccer broadcasts because of higher viewership numbers and perceived audience value. Lower advertising revenue for women's soccer broadcasts makes them less profitable for networks, creating economic disincentive for coverage even when rights costs are minimal.

However, this creates a self-perpetuating cycle. Limited coverage prevents audience growth, which keeps advertising rates low, which discourages increased coverage. Breaking this cycle requires investment without immediate return, something risk-averse media companies resist. The few organizations that have invested in women's soccer coverage, like the BBC with their Women's Super League broadcasts, have demonstrated that audiences will watch when coverage is accessible and well-produced.

Sponsorship disparities compound coverage inequality. Major men's leagues and clubs attract multinational corporations paying tens of millions for sponsorship, creating substantial financial ecosystems supporting extensive marketing and media relations. Women's teams typically secure much smaller sponsorships, leaving less budget for media outreach and limiting ability to compete for media attention.

Cultural Attitudes and Bias

Deeply ingrained cultural attitudes about women's sports contribute significantly to coverage disparity. Research shows that sports media often frames women's sports differently than men's, focusing disproportionately on appearance, personal lives, or emotional aspects rather than athletic achievement. This differential framing reflects broader societal attitudes that unconsciously position women's athletic achievements as less serious or compelling than men's.

Gatekeepers in sports media remain predominantly male. Editors, producers, and executives making coverage decisions grew up in eras when women's sports barely existed, potentially lacking personal connection or enthusiasm for covering women's soccer. While not necessarily reflecting intentional discrimination, this demographic composition influences what stories are deemed newsworthy and which games merit coverage.

The "watching what we know" phenomenon affects coverage decisions. Sports journalists, editors, and producers who grew up following men's soccer naturally possess deeper knowledge of men's teams, players, and leagues. This expertise makes covering men's soccer easier and more comfortable than covering women's soccer requiring additional learning and relationship building. Familiarity breeds comfort, while unfamiliarity creates hesitation and uncertainty about coverage approaches.

Audience expectations, shaped by decades of male-dominated coverage, create perceived demand favoring men's soccer. Media executives often cite audience research suggesting audiences prefer men's sports coverage. However, this preference may reflect familiarity rather than inherent interest. When women's soccer receives quality coverage in accessible formats, audiences demonstrate significant interest, suggesting preferences are malleable and shaped by availability rather than fixed and predetermined.

Structural and Practical Barriers

Practical considerations create additional barriers to equal coverage. Sports media operates with finite resources including limited broadcast slots, fixed numbers of journalists, constrained production budgets, and finite column space in print and online outlets. In this zero-sum environment, increasing women's soccer coverage often means reducing coverage of something else, creating internal resistance from stakeholders with vested interests in maintaining current allocation.

Scheduling conflicts disadvantage women's soccer. Major men's leagues occupy prime weekend time slots, with matches scheduled during peak viewing hours. Women's games frequently occur at less favorable times, sometimes deliberately scheduled to avoid competing with men's matches. This scheduling reduces potential viewership and makes games less attractive to broadcasters seeking maximum audience.

Production quality differences affect viewer experience and media willingness to promote coverage. Men's soccer benefits from decades of investment in broadcast technology, camera systems, graphics, analysis tools, and production expertise. Women's soccer broadcasts sometimes receive fewer cameras, less sophisticated graphics, and less experienced production crews, resulting in inferior viewing experiences that networks are less eager to promote.

Infrastructure limitations constrain coverage opportunities. Women's soccer often plays in smaller stadiums with fewer media facilities, making broadcasts more challenging and expensive. Press facilities at women's matches may be limited, with fewer interview opportunities and less access compared to men's games where extensive media infrastructure exists. These practical challenges make covering women's soccer more difficult and less attractive for resource-constrained media organizations.

The Growing Momentum for Change

Despite persistent challenges, momentum for increased women's soccer coverage is building. Record-breaking audiences for major tournaments demonstrate clear demand when coverage is provided. The 2019 Women's World Cup generated viewership numbers that surpassed many men's tournaments, proving that quality women's soccer attracts massive audiences when properly promoted and broadcast.

Sponsor interest is growing as companies recognize women's soccer's marketing value. Major brands increasingly invest in women's soccer sponsorships, drawn by engaged audiences, positive brand associations, and opportunities to demonstrate commitment to equality. This commercial growth provides financial resources supporting better production quality and marketing, making women's soccer more attractive to media partners.

Social media has democratized sports coverage, allowing women's soccer to reach audiences directly without relying solely on traditional media gatekeepers. Players with massive social media followings drive interest in women's soccer, while leagues and teams use digital platforms to build direct relationships with fans. This disintermediation creates new pathways for audience growth less dependent on traditional sports media coverage decisions.

Younger generations demonstrate more equal interest in women's and men's sports. Research suggests gender gaps in sports interest narrow significantly among younger demographics who grew up with more visible women's sports. As these audiences mature and become primary media consumers, demand for women's soccer coverage will likely increase, forcing media organizations to adjust coverage allocation.

Pathways Toward Equality

Achieving coverage equality requires multi-faceted approaches addressing economic, cultural, and structural barriers simultaneously. Broadcast commitments from major networks, making long-term investments in women's soccer broadcasting rights and promotion, signal credibility to audiences and advertisers while demonstrating organizational commitment to equality. The BBC's dedicated women's soccer coverage in the UK demonstrates how consistent, quality broadcasting builds audiences and normalizes women's soccer coverage.

Editorial policy changes can mandate minimum coverage percentages for women's sports. Some media organizations have implemented internal guidelines requiring proportional coverage, ensuring women's soccer receives regular attention rather than occasional token coverage. These policies overcome individual bias and institutional inertia by creating structural requirements for equality.

Investment in production quality ensures women's soccer broadcasts match men's in technical sophistication. Equal camera coverage, graphics, commentary quality, and promotional treatment improve viewing experience while signaling that women's soccer deserves equal respect and resources. When women's games look and feel like major productions, audiences respond more enthusiastically.

Scheduling coordination can reduce conflicts and give women's soccer access to prime time slots. Strategic scheduling that doesn't force fans to choose between watching men's or women's soccer expands total audience and demonstrates organizational commitment to both. Some leagues have successfully scheduled women's matches before or after men's games at the same venue, capturing crossover audiences and shared promotional benefit.

Journalism education and hiring practices can increase gender diversity in sports media. More women in decision-making roles often correlates with increased women's sports coverage, as female editors and producers bring different perspectives and interests to coverage decisions. Hiring journalists specifically tasked with covering women's soccer creates expertise and advocacy within organizations, ensuring consistent attention to women's games.

The Business Case for Equal Coverage

Beyond ethical arguments for equality, compelling business cases support increased women's soccer coverage. Untapped audience potential represents significant growth opportunity. Women's sports attract female viewers at higher rates than men's sports, offering access to demographic segments that traditional sports media struggles to reach. As media companies seek audience growth in saturated markets, women's soccer provides clear expansion opportunity.

Brand differentiation benefits media organizations embracing women's soccer coverage. In competitive media landscapes, covering women's soccer extensively distinguishes forward-thinking organizations from competitors, attracting audiences seeking progressive, inclusive content. This positioning appeals particularly to younger audiences whose values emphasize equality and representation.

Commercial partnerships with brands interested in reaching women's soccer audiences create new revenue streams. Companies seeking to engage female consumers or demonstrate equality commitments actively seek women's soccer sponsorship opportunities. Media organizations offering quality women's soccer coverage can attract these advertisers with unique inventory unavailable elsewhere.

Long-term positioning proves advantageous as women's soccer continues growing. Organizations investing early in women's soccer coverage build relationships, expertise, and audience loyalty that competitors will struggle to match. As women's soccer inevitably grows, early adopters will hold significant competitive advantages over late entrants to the market.

Conclusion

The disparity in media coverage between women's and men's soccer results from complex interplay of historical inequities, economic structures, cultural attitudes, and practical constraints. While no single factor fully explains the gap, together they create self-reinforcing systems that perpetuate inequality. However, growing audiences, increasing commercial interest, social media democratization, and shifting cultural attitudes are creating momentum for change. Achieving coverage equality requires conscious decisions by media organizations to invest resources, challenge established practices, and prioritize long-term growth over short-term comfort with familiar patterns. The business case for equal coverage strengthens continuously as women's soccer demonstrates commercial viability and audience appeal. Media organizations willing to lead on this issue will find opportunities for differentiation, audience growth, and alignment with evolving social values. The question is no longer whether women's soccer deserves equal coverage, but which media organizations will seize the opportunity to serve underserved audiences hungry for quality women's soccer content.