With all the scandals the NFL has been facing lately, I have been hearing many claims that 40% of the NFL fanbase is women. Other sports are similar, with reports up to 48% of baseball fans are women. Yet when it comes to broadcasting teams or ads during sporting events, they overwhelmingly feature men and are clearly aimed at a male audience. Often the few attempts to reach out to women, such as sideline reporters, have a condescending feel to them. Why are female fans so invisible to broadcasters and advertisers? For female sports fans, what do you think they can do to reach out to you–or does it even matter to you?
I may be unusual, but I’m not a Sports Fan. I’m a rabid Seahawks fan and a fair weather Mariners fan.
When I lived in Texas I was a Cowboy’s fan, in Kansas City, a Royals and Chiefs fan.
Most of the women I know, who watch sports, watch one, maybe two teams.
I don’t drink beer and rarely eat junk food. That’s what they advertise, so maybe it isn’t the sport, but the advertisers who don’t care about the female fans.
It hardly seems cost effective to direct ads at people who don’t use the product.