The Canadian sport media industry has traditionally been dominated by men, with male athletes and events receiving the majority of coverage. However, over the last several decades the landscape of sports media has changed significantly and will continue to do so as more and more women’s sports are gaining coverage and women’s voices are being heard. In this essay, the difficulties faced by women in sport media will be examined, and the advantages of addressing these challenges for the Canadian sport media industry’s future will be discussed. Additionally, the various facets of women’s sport media will be identified as critical factors driving the industry’s overall expansion and achievement. The future of women’s sport media coverage in the Canadian sport media industry will depend on increased investment in women’s sports, leveraging new media platforms and technology to enhance coverage, and promoting female journalists and commentators.
One of the most significant challenges facing women’s sport media coverage in the Canadian sport media industry is the lack of investment in women’s sports. Historically, men’s sports have received higher investment than women’s sports which has resulted in significant gaps in sport media resources. The lack of investment has also impacted the quality of women’s sports coverage, with many events not being televised or receiving limited coverage all together. However, looking into the future with new dedication to the topic of women’s sports, over the last two years investment in women’s sport has increased. Last year, publishers including ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports saw viewership increase after it invested more in its women’s sports coverage (Guaglione, 2023). In addition, Canadian Tire created a new Women’s Sport Initiative (WSI) and has pledged at least 50% of its sponsorship dollars will be spent on women’s professional sports by 2026. As part of that commitment, the WSI is a new corporate partner of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Future of Sport Lab which was co-founded by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and is an incubator that has supported such startups as The Gist, Spalk, Drive Hockey Analytics and Zone7 (Lemire, 2023). Increasing investment into women’s sports will have a significant impact on the future of the Canadian sport media industry as it will allow women’s sports to have more resources to develop and grow. Increased investment can lead to more televised events, greater quality production, and higher profile sponsorships all of which can help to increase exposure and engagement with women’s sports and grow the media market. This can lead to more interest from fans and media outlets, and ultimately drive higher viewership and revenue. “If you’re worried about ratings or pageviews, women’s sports is actually an opportunity. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also a good business move” (zeigler, 2022). We are currently seeing these changes happening, but with commitment to investing in women’s sport media, it is clear that increasing investments for women’s sports coverage will have a positive impact on the Canadian sport media industry. Women’s sports coverage is predicted to be worth more than a billion dollars in years ahead, as several events over the past decade have demonstrated its ability to generate significant TV audiences, deliver value to sponsors, and draw large crowds.
Another area to grow the future of the Canadian sport media industry is through using technology and new media platforms to promote women’s sports coverage in Canada. Although huge progress has been made, women’s sports are still seen as secondary to men’s sports, with female athletes not being taken as seriously as their male counterparts. This gender bias can manifest itself in several ways, from the type of coverage they receive to the language used to describe female athletes. One way to address these challenges is through the use of technology in the sport media industry. There are constantly new opportunities to promote and enhance women’s sport coverage as technology continues to improve. Through social media, video platforms, and other digital channels and technologies, female athletes and media companies can reach a wider audience and gain more exposure and attract new fans and sponsors. The new generation of media platforms are changing the future of women’s sport media as new platforms such as TikTok provide a space for female athletes and broadcasters to connect with fans and further promote their stories and content. Similarly, streaming services such as TSN, Sportsnet, ESPN+, and Amazon Prime Video make women’s sports more accessible to fans, even if traditional broadcasters are not providing it. TSN stated that “the effort to grow connections has included social media” (TSN, 2022). The NHL formed a content partnership with TikTok and led to Bleacher Report expanding its coverage and in May saw engagement triple compared to 2021.The use of data and analytics is another way that technology can enhance the coverage of women’s sports in the Canadian media industry. With new ways to analyze and measure the performance of female athletes and teams, sport media outlets have been able to highlight these impressive performances and promote these women more than ever before. Overall, the advancement of technology is changing the future of women’s sport media by increasing visibility to help challenge gender stereotypes and promoting greater acceptance of women’s sports as a legitimate and valuable form of entertainment which in turn makes this area of media more profitable for the industry.
Increasing and promoting the numbers of female journalists and broadcasters working in sports is another important factor that is changing the future of the Canadian sport media industry for the better. By the media industry working together with females, it creates more opportunities for not only women to participate in sport media but also increases the visibility of women’s sports and overall creates a more inclusive space in the world of sports. “Dating back to 2002, we’ve been having these conversations about why it’s important to have diversity of gender, race and class, really in all facets in news and sports media” (The Guardian, 2022). Having more women working in sport media can have several positive effects on the industry. First of all, it leads to greater diversity in perspectives that are represented in sport media. This allows a broader range of opinions and experiences being reflected in sports coverage, which will ultimately result in a more balanced and nuanced story. As well, female journalists and broadcasters can help to highlight issues that affect women in sports more accurately through experience. “Of course I believe in men covering women’s sports, but there are topics that women may have knowledge of and lived experience in that can craft a point or interrogate something differently” (Ahmed, 2023). Finally, Women make up a significant proportion of sports fans and athletes, and having more women involved and working in sports media can help attract a larger and more diverse audience, ensure that their interests and perspectives are represented, and overall, broaden the appeal of sports coverage which will lead to a more engaged and passionate audience. When looking at the growing numbers of women working in sport media the future looks bright. In 2021 ESPN recorded that the percentage of women sports editors increased significantly from 10.0% in 2018 to 16.7% in 2021 and the percentage of women reporters rose from 11.5% in 2018 to 14.4% in 2021. It is safe to say that these numbers will continue to grow and with that, the sport media industry will continue to thrive and celebrate diversity and equality. For Sara Ziegler, sports editor at ABC-owned FiveThirtyEight, hiring more women is a great financial move. Women’s sports might never have been more profitable and prosperous (The Guardian, 2022). By increasing the number of women working as writers, reporters, editors, commentators, and more, the Canadian sport media industry can greatly benefit. Promoting gender diversity in sports media will expand the Canadian industry and will grow the market as a whole. It will attract a wider audience of both male and female fans, while also diversifying job opportunities which will be a key driver of growth and success for the future of the Canadian sport media industry.
In conclusion, promoting gender diversity in the Canadian sport media industry is not exclusively a matter of fairness and social justice but it is essential for the continued growth and success of the industry. Increasing investment in women’s sport, leveraging technology and new media platforms to enhance viewership and coverage, and promoting female broadcasters are all areas that will heavily impact the future and progression of the sport media landscape. Although these have been challenges of the past and still remain challenges of today, we have seen continued progress and transformation within the Canadian sport media industry and it has led to many positive outcomes. According to NHL research, 37% of hockey fans are female, including an eye-popping 26% growth in that demographic since 2016 (TSN, 2022). Since TSN started taking female fans into account they saw that an increase among female viewers was higher during Wednesday night games on TNT. During the regular season, there was a 44% jump in female viewers compared to previous years, when the games were aired on NBCSN (TSN, 2022). There is no doubt that opportunity in the female sports market is high and catering to this audience will be a significant driver in increasing viewership, loyalty, and profits for the Canadian sport media industry as a whole. It will be important for the industry to continue this upward pattern of minimizing gender bias and expanding their equality to see further growth, higher profits, larger fanbases, and overall success in the future of Canadian sport media.