The explosion in interest in women's football over the past five years has been spearheaded by two of the biggest broadcasters in the UK, Sky Sports and the BBC. Disney added its weight to the game by snapping up the Champions League before the 2025-26 season, recognising its potential for capturing new audiences.
Broadcasters have experimented widely with format, style and tone. Scott herself launched her own YouTube show this season, One More Word WSL, which she presents on Sunday nights alongside ex-England internationals Anita Asante and Fara Williams. Disney+ even had a dog on set during its coverage, but not every idea has proven successful. Journalist Carrie Dunn, who has covered women's sport for more than two decades, says opinions about coverage reflect a tension at the heart of the game. "The challenge broadcasters are finding is that they are not sure who the audience is," she says. Often, it is a resourcing issue, with budgets being cut and the same presenters and pundits trying to be all things to all people.
In the summer, the BBC announced its Women's Super League highlights show would not return for the 2026-27 season, but insisted it remained "fully committed to women's football." It pointed to a new YouTube channel, a debate show called The Women's Football Fallout exclusively on BBC iPlayer, and clips and analysis on the BBC Sport website. Dunn notes that balancing context for new fans without patronising older ones remains unsolved, while Aston Villa interim boss Brian Sorensen believes the innovations are a good thing, even if some fail.
Manchester City manager Andree Jeglertz agrees that the much bigger audience is a huge positive, while Tottenham's Martin Ho says clubs and players must ensure the on-field product is worth watching. Chelsea's Sonia Bompastor said she was open to new approaches provided they were properly analysed.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing