Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Women’s sport wins big in 2023 | A look at the record-breaking numbers women’s sport as achieved in 2023
2023 has been an outstanding year for women’s sport. Headlined by a highly successful Women’s World Cup, women’s sport has reached heights never seen before, and there is great potential for more.
Gen Dohrmann, Women Sport Australia President, said the Matildas’ World Cup campaign, where they reached the semi-final, can have a huge impact on not only women’s football, but sport as a whole.
Speaking to Sky News, she said, “I think we’re definitely going to see a lot of enthusaism not only around women’s football, but women’s sport in general. We have really seen a shift in the way we think about our female athletes and women in sport, and there’s a lot more appreciation for the effort and all of the excellence that goes into training up our female athletes to get them where they need to be.”
“Previously, people have thought only females watch women’s sport. What we’re seeing now is that men and boys are really getting involved. Everyone’s got their Matildas jerseys on, everyone’s chatting about it at the coffee stalls, so it’s super exciting to see women’s sport become mainstream.”
Matildas record-breaking semi-final against England
Channel 7’s broadcast of the Matildas’ World Cup semi-final clash against England reached 11.15 million viewers – the highest figure since OzTAM television rating records have been kept. The game peaked at 6.9 million viewers on the broadcast, with a further 957,000 tuning in on Seven’s streaming app, 7plus.
This is excluding Optus Sport’s figures. So, the total peak figure may eclipse the 8.8 million that watched Cathy Freeman’s magnificent and historic 400m run at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The growth of women’s football is a remarkable story when you consider where it was just under a decade ago. In 2014, the Matildas played a series of home matches against Brazil, with the first attracting just 2,583 fans. The second match was played behind closed doors after Football Federation Australia deemed opening the stadium would be too costly.
While it is unfair to compare those matches to a World Cup, it can’t be denied that women’s football – and sport in general – is on the rise. The Matildas regularly have good attendances even for friendlies, with their farewell pre-World Cup match against France selling out at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
The Women’s World Cup as a whole has proven to be a success. Players from all participating nations have been greeted with packed stadiums across Australia and New Zealand. Also, Seven’s coverage has reached 14.04 million broadcast viewers so far in the tournament, plus another 3.4 million on 7plus.
Women’s World Cup numbers come soon after record-breaking cricket numbers
In June and July this year, England pushed the great Australia team all the way in their multi-format Ashes series. The Australians prevailed in a closely-fought Test match, before the hosts won both the T20I and ODI series.
While the team fell agonisingly short of regaining the Ashes, the England public was right behind them. The Test, three T20Is and three ODIs saw a total attendance of 110,000, which was nearly five times more than the 2019 figure. Also, all three ODIs were sold out – a first for the England women’s team.
The engagement wasn’t limited to just the stadiums. 5.3 million viewers tuned in on live TV, with approximately 47 million video views across all of England Cricket’s social media outlets as of July 20.
The Women’s Ashes came soon after the first ever Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India and riveting T20 World Cup in South Africa. WPL 2023 saw a number of outstanding performances, with record totals a feature in front of packed stadiums. The T20 World Cup clocked up 192m viewing hours globally, making it the most-watched ICC women’s event ever.
Women’s Rugby League on the rise. Tennis continues to thrive, while Rugby enjoyed a record
728,000 Australians tuned into the women’s Australian Open Final in January. Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina, with 851,000 viewers tuning into the presentation. At Wimbledon, Marketa Vondrousova’s victory over Ons Jabeur saw a peak audience of 4.5 million on BBC One, an increase of 1.4 million on 2022.
In Australia, women’s rugby league is in its growth phase. The women’s rugby league state of origin series saw a record crowd in Townsville. Also, over 300,000 fans tuned in on TV and streaming services.
Back in March, the Women’s Six Nations rugby tournament saw a 70% increase in total match attendance and 135% increase in TV ratings. Also, across social media, there was a whopping 5.6 billion views of #SixNationsRugby.
The figures and growth, particularly in 2023, sends a message that there is a demand for women’s sport. And, as athletes continue to benefit from the move to full-time professionalism, the quality of sports will only improve, thus bringing more sponsorship, revenue and earning opportunities.
