15.12.2016

Less than 10% of women’s sport coverage on Spanish TV news

Women's sport coverage on Spanish TV news correspond to less than 10% of the total amount of sports news and are in average shorter than the rest, a new report of the Andalusian Audiovisual Council (CAA) has revealed.

The report, presented on Tuesday 13 December, compiles the outcomes of three studies on the topic in Andalusia and shows that among 831 sports news analysed, 719 (86%) refer to male sports, 58 to women's (7%) and 54 (7%) to mixed sports.

Football is the most reported sport, representing 67% of all sports news of which only 2% are about women's football.

The most balanced information are the news of sports including athletics, in which 87% of the news make reference to sports practiced by both genders, tennis, in which 47% of the news are of women's tennis, and basketball with 33% of the stories referring to women's tournaments. However, the three sports combined represent less than 15% of the total amount of sports news.

The report also presents data regarding the participation and commentaries made by female sports journalists, coaches, athletes, fans, referees and others. Out of 4.390 contributions noted in sports news stories, only 173 were made by women, 4% of the total.

In 2014, 14 media outlets and seven sporting federations in Andalusia signed a CAA proposal to promote a more diverse coverage of sport but the outcomes of the pact reveal a slow improvement. A 2013 study noted that only 2% of all athletes interviewed by Andalusia’s public televisions were women, it currently is 4,52%.

Assessing the numbers, CAA said in a press release: "The numbers do not represent the reality of Andalusian sport but they show that discrimination against women still prevails."

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