Women’s sports will soon be simpler to find.
The Women’s Sports Network, the first network to exclusively focus on female athletes, debuted on Wednesday. It offers 24/7 streaming of original programming, tournaments, documentaries, and a daily studio show called “Game On.”
The Women’s Sports Network is a free, ad-supported network that is available on smart TVs, Amazon.com’s Freevee, Fox Corporation’s FuboTV, and Tubi. The launch of the new network coincides with increased investment in and interest in women’s sports, yet women still receive disproportionately less media attention.

The CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab as well as a four-time Olympian in ice hockey, Angela Ruggiero, who sits on the board of advisors for the new network, called it “a huge step towards decreasing the gap in media coverage for female athletes, for female sports.”
Fast Studios, based in Los Angeles, first announced the network back in February.
The Women’s Sports Network collaborates with a number of organisations, including the World Surf League, Women’s National Basketball Association, Women’s Football Alliance, Ladies Professional Golf Association, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, and Sports Innovation Lab. Beginning in January, games will be aired.

Longtime advertising executive Stuart McLean established Fast Studios in 2020 with a focus on ad-supported streaming television services. Auto racing and sparse obstacle course competitions-focused streaming networks have also been introduced by Fast Studios.
Women’s sports have steadily increased in popularity over the past year. Viewership of the WNBA postseason increased by 22% over the previous year. Since college athletes can now be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, female athletes are also succeeding in the NIL era and landing deals with companies like Nike. Yet a recent research by the University of Southern California and Purdue University found that only 5% of the media covers women’s sports.

According to Mollie Marcoux Samaan, commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, “The Women’s Sports Network is exactly what athletes, fans, and sponsors have been asking for.”
A research by the National Research Group and Ampere Analysis found that 39% of Gen Zers and 29% of millennials watch more women’s sports now than they did a year ago. However, the study indicated that there are still significant obstacles: 79% of American sports enthusiasts still say they don’t regularly follow women’s sports. 74% of spectators, however, are unable to name a single business that sponsors any significant women’s league.

There is a pent-up need for women’s sports, but because the ecosystem supporting them hasn’t actually been developed, women’s sports are often underfunded, undersupported, and underwatched. “There aren’t enough women writers. There aren’t enough women in broadcasting. There aren’t enough women working as producers. Women aren’t getting the ratings, and the media ecosystem is still mostly dominated by men, according to Ruggiero.
The National Research Group and Ampere Analysis found that U.S. broadcast networks spent 0.2% of media-rights budgets on women’s-only sporting events (excluding events with both men’s and women’s sports like the Olympics), indicating that traditional networks have made little effort to promote women’s sports.

Every men’s league has decades of head start over the conventional women’s leagues, according to Ruggiero. These women’s sports properties are still in their early stages of development, and everything that is in its early stages of development requires more investment to establish its platform, audience, brand, and level of recognition. And it’s not just about performance; it’s also about business,” she added.
Former Harlem Globetrotter and social media influencer Crissa Jackson, sports writer Taylor Felix, sports influencer and former collegiate basketball player Jenna Bandy, and sports reporter and producer Jess Lucero serve as the hosts of the network’s studio show, “Game On.”