On Thursday at the TikTok Awards, Sky Sports launched their new female-focused sports channel. But by Sunday, it was axed.
The idea was to offer content tailored to female fans and create a space for women to engage with sport in a more ‘relatable’ way, but it backfired immediately. Following sexist posts with pink text and stereotypical slogans, it would arguably not look out of place in the 1980s. At a time where women’s sport is thriving with record attendances in stadiums, reducing their interests to pastel aesthetics fell wide of the mark and sent the wrong message.
The reaction online reflected that. Being marketed as the ‘lil sis’ of Sky, the broadcasters immediately faced accusations of being ‘patronising’ with every post being met with criticism. There was a core idea of promoting women’s sports, with the account live streaming England against New Zealand in the Vitality Netball International Series, but five of the first 11 videos posted were about male athletes. With comments questioning the output, the account’s responses consisted of “We post about all sports” and “Can’t believe you brought that kind of energy”. This led to the comments section being turned off before the account was eventually cancelled.
Andy Gill, head of social media and audience development at Sky Sports, wrote on his LinkedIn profile that he “couldn’t be prouder and more excited about (Halo’s) launch”. However, now just two posts remain, their introductory video, which sits with just over 5,800 likes despite 1.9 million views, and their departing post. Their final post confirms the ending of activity on the account. “Our intention for Halo was to create a space alongside our existing social channels for new, young, female fans. We’ve listened; we didn’t get it right. As a result, we’re stopping all activity on this account”.
Once the account went quiet, its short-lived run sparked a wider discussion about how female supporters and women’s sports are regarded within the media. A general idea was that the account wasn’t a terrible idea, as a dedicated space valuing and covering just women’s sports could have been valued and useful. Instead, it was the tone, posts and response that undermined the failed project.
All of this comes at a time where women’s sport is enjoying unprecedented growth. We saw the women’s European Championships take place in the summer of this year with record-breaking attendances and 29 of 31 matches sold out. After Spain were victorious over Germany in the semi-finals, the total attendance sat at 623,088 surpassing the 574,875 that was set in England in 2022.
In the end, Halo highlighted why thoughtful representation matters. The gap between its intention and its execution was too wide to bridge after a disastrous introduction. The reaction makes it clear that there is space for women’s sport to be celebrated, but stereotypical and ultimately sexist comments prove that the approach and marketing for future projects, needs to be reviewed thoroughly.
