Women’s sport was watched by record female audiences in the UK this summer, according to a report by the Women’s Sport Trust.
The WST’s latest visibility report, external shows significant growth across both broadcast and digital platforms, with record viewing hours and strong engagement across this summer’s major tournaments.
England women retained their European football title at Euro 2025 while England also won the Women’s Rugby World Cup as hosts.
The report shows females in the UK made up 44% of the Euro 2025 audience and 43% of the Rugby World Cup audience – records for each tournament – and the figures rose to 48% and 47% for the respective finals.
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 athletes’ stories.
Including coverage of the Women’s Super League, The Hundred and Netball Super League, total viewing hours for women’s sport on free-to-air and pay TV from January to September 2025 reached 357 million hours, with the average reaching nine hours and 45 minutes – both passing the previous records set in 2023.
“The biggest moments on UK television have come from women’s sport, and audiences are watching for longer than ever before,” said Tammy Parlour, chief executive of the Women’s Sport Trust.
“While audiences still skew male, we’re seeing a clear rise in female fans engaging more deeply across platforms. That’s a powerful signal of cultural relevance – women’s sport isn’t a niche interest, it’s now a part of the national sporting conversation.
“The combination of strong broadcast performance and growing online reach shows what’s possible when visibility and accessibility come together.”