Sky Sports cancels ‘sexist’ Halo channel on TikTok after three days

Sky Sports has canceled its new women-focused TikTok channel, Halo, after it faced online backlash with posts that were branded “condescending” and “sexist”.

In a statement posted on social media on Saturday evening, the broadcaster admitted it “did not do it right” and would “cease all activity” on the account.

The channel, which was announced only on Thursday, is described as an “inclusive, dedicated platform for women to enjoy and explore content from all sports, while amplifying female voices and perspectives.”

However, many on social media criticized the “Little Sister” account, which talked in its content about “Hot Girl Walks” and matcha and labobo games.

At its inception, Sky said Halo’s goal was to “build a welcoming community for female fans, both casual and committed, through fun, trend-driven and relevant content.”

This content included one TikTok post referencing the Formula 1 scandal titled “2008 Crashgate explained in girls’ terms” written in glowing pink text alongside pink nail polish emojis.

Another post saw a clip of Manchester City players Ryan Chergui and Erling Haaland combining for the latter to score against Bournemouth, with the caption: “How to do the matcha + hot girl combo.”

Viewers said the posts were “childish” and undermined the work that has been done over the past few years to put women’s sport in the spotlight. “One step forward, 50 years back,” one person said.

GirlsontheBall, a prominent platform that covers women’s football, expressed their frustration, saying on Channel X that they could not “imagine that this is what female sports fans want.”

“I have so many ideas to touch on when I’m not under a mountain of writing but all I can ask is why? The brand (can we ever move beyond the pink/peach phase?!), the premise, the copy…”

One user said Sky Sports Halo was one of the worst concepts he had ever seen.

They said: “It is extremely arrogant. Creating a vulgar sports channel for women is incredibly sexist. It is unbelievable that it was approved and that it is still alive.”

While the channel targeted women, many of the sports stars featured in its posts were men.

Andy Gill, Sky Sports’ head of social media and audience development, wrote on LinkedIn that he “couldn’t be prouder and more excited about… [Halo’s] Launch,” but by Saturday night, the broadcaster was forced to rethink.

All but two posts from the Halo account have been deleted, one of which was a brief statement from Sky that said: “Our goal with Halo was to create a space alongside our existing channel for new, young and female fans.

“We listened. We didn’t get it right. As a result, we’ve paused all activity on this account. We’re learning and remain more committed than ever to creating spaces where fans feel included and inspired.”

The BBC has contacted Sky for comment, but has nothing to add.