BBC Women and Sport Qualitative Research - 23rd February 2005
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BBC Women and Sport
Qualitative Research
23rd February 2005What you wanted to find out
• How do women view sports coverage
– Offer an industry wide perspective
– Encompass a tri-media mindset
– Offer recommendations on what could increase appeal
• How much does media coverage drive interest for women?
• Describing where we are now to the women’s sport lobby groups
• What’s the relationship between coverage and participation
• Is there a genuine demand for us to extend appeal of sports content to more
women?
• How can we shape our Euro 2005 offering?
• Help us make decisions in our next 4 year planning cycleExecutive summary
Coverage of women’s sport (or the lack of) is not a top of mind issue
• Only when people are asked to think about it in the groups is it seen as being unfair
Three main types of women viewer
• Heavy viewers of sport on TV who are largely satisfied with current coverage
• Female main eventers who become involved in the big event but are less engaged with
everyday coverage
• Light viewers who feel compelled to follow some of the big events
The challenge is to develop the interests of the female main eventer beyond the big events
• To enhance the relevance and appeal of everyday viewing by understanding:
• What they get out of the big events
• How their needs differ from those of most male viewers
Therefore the opportunity is to engage the female main eventer in regular output
• Female main eventers suggest ways in which their needs can be better reconciled with those of
heavy sports viewersExecutive summary
Women become more involved in the main event through:
• A desire for social inclusion, the moments of high sporting drama and in some instances, the
love of the sport
• Their engagement is enhanced by the coverage of human side of sport that is more in evidence
during the main events:
– the personal story, the human drama, the narrative before and after the event, life
beyond sport and the glamour of the characters and the event
Female main eventers also express a different set of viewing needs to men particularly for
coverage of sport beyond the big events
• A sense of togetherness (in terms of the family as well as outside the home), the value of sport
for their children over other forms of entertainment, inspiring them to lead healthier more
rounded lives and a bit of sex and glamour
Throughout the discussion female main eventers provided valuable insight into how they
feel current programming, Euro 2005 and future programming could better serve their
needsWho we spoke to
Target audience
• Primary: Women aged 25 to 44 with varying interest and involvement in sport
• Secondary: Men aged 25 to 44 with varying interest and involvement in sport
Sessions were divided between different BBC defined attitudinal segments:-
A range of different locations
• London, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Glasgow
Timing
• Research sessions were conducted during December 2004Three types of female respondents
A spectrum of respondents
Heavy Main eventers Light
Knowledge of, attitudes to and what they want to get out of sports coverage
was largely dependent on how interested respondents were in watching sport on TVWomen and all sports coverage
A spectrum of attitudes
Well defined picture Feel compelled
of sports coverage to watch some
Satisfied of the big event
Heavy
Light
Main eventers
Enjoy the big events
Beyond that
sports coverage is
blurred mass
of footballGenerally attitudes to coverage are dependent
on levels of interest
Lots of indistinguishable football shows
Internet Five Live
Heavy
Grandstand Match of the day
Light/main eventers
Olympics
Question of Sport
NB for all sport not just women’s sportThe challenge
To develop the interests of the main eventer beyond the big event
• To enhance the relevance and appeal of everyday viewing
• And gradually drawing in the less interested lighter viewer
• Without alienating or undermining the pleasure of the heavy viewer
By understanding the motivations of the big event
And the specific needs of the main eventerMotivations for the female main eventers
Social inclusion Love of the sport Moments of great drama
Magnified by British success
Deepened by
The human side of sport
These factors
Human drama
often not present
in everyday
The narrative sport. Therefore
Life beyond sport their interest is
more shallow
A bit of glamourDefining the main events
Certain factors were consistent among the female main eventers and lighter
viewers:
Main world event Lots of media attention
Major national event Heavy TV coverage “It’s the sort of
thing that
everybody is
British involvement People talking about it talking about”
Interesting characters A sense of importanceDefining the main events
What defines a main event varied according to how ‘into’ sport the viewer was:
Heavy Main eventers Light
World Cup World Cup World Cup
Wimbledon Wimbledon Wimbledon
Olympics Olympics Olympics
6 Nations 6 Nations
FA Cup FA Cup
Big Premiership games
Their teams’ gamesAttitudes to women’s sport
Coverage of women’s sport (or the lack of) is not a top of mind issue
• It is only when people are asked to think about that it becomes more of an issue
• It is then seen as unfair, but understandable
Most can think of many reasons why the current situation might exist
• Women’s sport has not been allowed to progress in same way as men’s
• Lack of funding, lack of interest, lack of women taking up sport professionally, lack of support,
lack of coverage and education
• This has resulted in many expecting there to be an entertainment gap
However it is a situation many think can change
• The success of women’s tennis, athletics, gymnastics, etc. prove that it is possible for
women’s sport to be as engaging as men’s
• Particularly as part of a big event
• Or particularly when there is British successAttitudes to women’s sport
Ultimately though no one is up in arms about it as an issue
• People didn’t seem to be that bothered
• Unless they were going to miss a main event (e.g. Wimbledon, Kelly Holmes, etc.)
The broadcasters are not thought to be to blame
• It is seen as a societal issue as opposed to a broadcaster issueThe link between watching and participation
There is little evidence of a direct link between watching sport and participation
Women have a wider definition of participative sport
• Think of sport in broader terms - all exercise (e.g. yoga, gym)
• Unlike men who think of sport primarily in terms of competitive sports
Women are inspired by watching sport but more in terms of life and exercise than running
out and hitting a ball
• Fitness and staying in shape
• May make them go to the gym
• Work to overcome some of their life obstacles
Suggest that a programme about fitness and life may be more directly inspiring than MOTDUnderstanding the needs of the main eventer
And how they compare to the coverage needs of menWhat men get out of watching sport The essential Enjoyment Buzz Part of something The desired Relaxation Ritual The bonus Escape Knowledge The dream Aspiration
For women it’s slightly different
They have different viewing experiences
And different viewing needsWomen don’t feel quite the same
way about everyday sport
In truth many main eventers and light viewers seem to be at best bemused and
often turned off by many of these male sport watching needs
Buzz Enjoy the buzz of big events, without needing a daily fix
Relaxation Watching something that doesn’t interest them is not relaxing
Escape Nor does it take them to another place – which would be lovely
Aspiration Haven’t spent their adolescences aspiring to great netballing heights
Ritual Coronation Street and EastEnders do it for me
Knowledge Complicated rules and the constant need for facts are not appealingMain eventers about everyday sport
The essential Involvement Togetherness
The desired Good for the kids Inspiration
The bonus Sex
The dream Glamour
* Prior research by the BBC on the Olympics supports thisNeeds to be met by female main
eventers friendly sports coverage
For example:
Involvement Togetherness Light-heartedness Presenter banter
Narrative beyond Focussing on before
Humanity Personal dramas
the game And after game
Why does sport improve
Beyond sport Healthy lifestyles Looking good
complexion
Fitness. Dealing with
Inspiration Personal stories Relevance to my life
pregnancy as an athlete.
Lifestyles of the Cars, Houses, dresses,
Glamour Sex
rich and famous BeckhamsA different viewing experience
for female main eventer
For example:
Colourful and
Tone Light and accessible GMTV
refreshing
Various and
Content Redefining skill Focus on artistry of skill
expressive
Personality before
Presenters Good looking Cat Deeley, Gaby Logan
knowledge
Relaxed and
Locations Light and feminine GMTV, outside
comfortable
Sunday morning,
Times Family downtime
late afternoon
Soccer AMIn summary
Desired female friendly sports coverage
The core elements of a different viewing experienceSummary
Attitude and needs are dependent on women’s interest in watching sport:
Pretty well catered for by current sports coverage: they love watching
Heavy viewer sport and will watch a lot of sport above and beyond the main events
Tend to tune in for the main events. They do get heavily involved in
Main eventers these events, but are often not that interested or engaged by sport
beyond this – a blur of football
Less satisfied by all sports coverage but feel compelled to follow some
Light viewer
of the big events to feel socially included
The challenge is to develop the interest of the female main eventers beyond the big
eventsSummary
Women watch the main events for the following reasons:
• Love of the sport, the moments of high drama and social inclusion, underpinned by
British success
• Deepened by other important elements that they don’t get from everyday sport:
– the human story, drama, narrative, life beyond sport and a bit of glamour
Women have differently expressed coverage needs to men
• A sense of togetherness, to be part of something and ultimately not to be excluded
• The idea that it is good for the kids to watch sport as opposed to the playstation,
provides a perspective on a healthy lifestyle
• Inspiration, particularly in relation to their own lives
• Sex appeal and a bit of glamourYou can also read
