I welcome any attempt to make safe spaces for women to interact with sports. We need more of them.<\/p>\n
But of the first 11 videos posted by the \u201cfemale-focused platform\u201d, five were about male athletes. However, the account did livestream the Vitality Netball International Series over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The backlash online was instant and scathing, with many viewers criticising Halo\u2019s content as \u201csexist, degrading and patronising\u201d.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s football social media platform GirlsOnTheBall posted on X, saying \u201ccan\u2019t imagine this is what women sports fans want\u201d while soccer commentator Jamie Martin also criticised the concept, calling it \u201cdisgraceful\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think you need to make a separate channel for female football fans, and essentially \u2018dumb things down\u2019 to memes etc \u2026 just condescending,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n
Sky Sports originally stood by the social media page, but the broadcaster turned off comments and started deleting the most controversial videos on Saturday. By Sunday (AEDT), it had announced it would cease activity on the social page and conceded the concept was misjudged.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur intention for Halo was to create a space alongside our existing channel for new, young, female fans,\u201d Sky said in a statement viewed by more than a million people on TikTok.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve listened. We didn\u2019t get it right. As a result, we\u2019re stopping all activity on this account. We\u2019re learning and remain as committed as ever to creating spaces where fans feel included and inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n
If media organisations truly want to empower women in sport, they need to produce content that is free of gimmicks and sexist stereotypes.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s take Formula 1 as an example. Women are a huge part of the motorsport fan base; 16 to 24-year-old females are the sport\u2019s fastest-growing age sector. <\/a><\/p>\n