The world is eager to cheer on women in sports year round — not just during the Olympics

For two weeks during the Tokyo Olympics, we lived in a gender equitable sports utopia.

The Olympics are far from perfect, and there are many issues of inclusion, wellness and sustainability needing work. Yet, from the sheer standpoint of viewing competitive athletics, I relished this year’s games because for once I could turn on the TV and readily see incredible female athletes featured in 50% or more of the programming.

Some major countries sent a greater number of female athletes compared to male athletes (329 women and 284 men represented Team USA; the U.S. women won roughly 58% of the medals and the entire games were composed of approximately 49% women — the highest level to date).

However, on a typical non-Olympic day, women’s sports receive a paltry 5.4% of television sports coverage, according to a 2019 Purdue University study. Yet, during this past Olympics, every day there were hundreds of phenomenal women athletes on display, playing everything from volleyball to softball, badminton and beyond.

To be able to turn on programming with my young daughter and son and easily find an even mix of women’s and men’s sports gives me hope that one day we’ll be able to do so in non-Olympic times as pro women’s leagues and female college sports finally get the airtime they deserve.

I played and loved all sorts of sports growing up. Yet, as a kid, the big networks rarely put on any women’s sports at all, besides the occasional tennis or golf game. Women appeared during the Olympics, but not equitably. Miss America pageants drew more air time and competitive flare.

To now see women’s Olympic sports on major channels and across screens all hours of the day starts to make up for the desert of coverage I experienced as a girl. This summer, my family and I were transfixed by dynamos such as Northern California’s soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe, gymnast Suni Lee, WNBA all-star Sue Bird and sprinter Allyson Felix — proving that women’s feats are just as powerful and inspiring. Plus, little girls watching everywhere were moved to pick up a racket, ball or glove. Not to mention that girls in under-resourced areas with less athletic offerings can access female sports role models in new ways through Olympics coverage.

The successes of women during this year’s Olympics demonstrated to sponsors, networks, hosts and advertisers that showing women’s sports makes dollars and sense. The Olympics garner $1.25 billion in ad revenue, and viewers streamed at least 4.4 billion minutes of the Tokyo contests. A huge share of those dollars and views were driven by people tuning into top female athletes. In fact, an analysis by Five Ring TV shows women’s sports were broadcast 58% of the time, reflecting what audiences increasingly want.

Advertisers, companies, networks and all stakeholders should recognize that the world is excited to watch and cheer on women in sports all year long.

The Olympics showed squarely that the talent is there, the eyeballs are glued and it’s a win-win because women’s sports translates to revenue. With Title IX’s 50th anniversary next year and many girls and women still confined to the sidelines or uneven playing fields, female sports media is also a way to spur participation and strengthen school, college and park athletic programs for girls and women.

Let’s continue watching women’s sports with the same fervor as our Olympic days, whether that’s the WNBA, the National Women’s Soccer League, the newly-minted Athletes Unlimited leagues or women’s college athletics.

The Tokyo Games’ theme was “Moving Forward.” Affording robust female sports coverage 365 days a year will mark a giant step ahead.

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 6:00 AM.