Record numbers watching women’s sport, report says

In the UK this summer, there were record female audience numbers for women’s sport, according to a report from the Women’s Sport Trust.

With record viewing times and high participation across the summer’s major tournaments, the WST’s most recent visibility report reveals significant growth across both broadcast and digital platforms.

At Euro 2025, England women won the Women’s Rugby World Cup as hosts, and the women also retained their European football title.

The figures for the respective finals increased to 48% and 47%, according to the report, which shows that females in the UK accounted for 43% of the Euro 2025 and 43% of the Rugby World Cup audience, respectively, records for each tournament.

Both tournaments were live on the BBC, and to celebrate the athletes’ stories, the BBC launched a campaign called “Names Will Be Made” to coincide with the summer’s events.

Total viewing times for women’s sport on free-to-air and pay-TV from January to September 2025 exceeded 357 million hours, which is faster than the previous records set in 2023, which also included coverage of the Women’s Super League, The Hundred, and Netball Super League.

Women’s Sport is one of the biggest draws for viewers of UK television, according to Tammy Parlour, CEO of the Women’s Sport Trust.

“While male audience segments are still present, there is a clear increase in female fans’ engagement across platforms. Women’s sport is no longer a niche interest; it is now a part of the national sporting conversation, which is a powerful indication of cultural relevance.