Record numbers for watching women’s sport, says Women’s Sport Trust report

Women’s sport was watched by a record female audience in the UK this summer, according to a report by the Women’s Sports Trust.

Latest WST Vision Report, external It is showing significant growth across both streaming and digital platforms, with record viewing hours and strong engagement across major leagues this summer.

England Women retained the European football title at Euro 2025 while England also won the Women’s Rugby World Cup as hosts.

The report shows that females in the UK make up 44% of the Euro 2025 audience and 43% of the Rugby World Cup audience – record numbers for each tournament – with numbers rising to 48% and 47% in the finals respectively.

Both tournaments were broadcast live on the BBC, and to coincide with this summer’s events, the BBC launched a campaign called ‘Names Will Be Made’ to highlight the stories of the athletes.

Including coverage of the Women’s Super League, The Hundred and Netball Super League, total viewing hours of women’s sport on free-to-air and pay TV from January to September 2025 reached 357 million hours, with an average of nine hours and 45 minutes – both of which surpassed previous records set in 2023.

Tammy Parlor, chief executive of the Women’s Sports Trust, said: “The biggest moments on British television have come from women’s sport, and audiences are watching it for longer than ever before.”

“While audiences are still skewed male, we are seeing a clear rise in female fans engaging more deeply across platforms. This is a strong signal of cultural importance – women’s sports is not a niche interest, it is now part of the national sports conversation.”

“The combination of strong streaming performance and increased online reach shows what is possible when visibility and accessibility come together.”