Poll on Women’s Sports in America: ‘Show Us More and We’ll Watch More’
Friday, February 17, 2023
Jane McManus, executive director of the Center for Sports Media, speaking with Billie Jean and Ilana Kloss. Photo by Wilnir Louis.
Billie Jean King Weighs in on Finding that 57 Percent of Avid Fans Say Men and Women Should Compete With and Against Each Other
Poll Finds Support for Government Assistance to Women’s Sports; Women and Men in General Agreement on Women’s Sports
In a poll measuring the standing of women’s sports in America, 50 percent of the general population, 60 percent of self-described sports fans and 66 percent of avid fans would like to see more media exposure for those sports. Comprised of 51 percent women and 49 percent men, perhaps surprisingly the poll respondents largely agreed on this question and the other findings in this poll on women’s sports. For this question, 51 percent of women and 48 percent of men said they would like to see more media exposure for women’s sports.
When polled, 37 percent of the general population, 51 percent of sports fans, and 56 percent of avid fans say they would watch more women’s sports on TV or on online platforms if the content were available. For women that number was 35 percent, for men 38 percent.
These were among the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted January 30 – February 2 among 1,534 adults across the country. The poll featured a national representative sample from YouGov weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent.
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 50% | 51% | 48% | 60% | 34% | 66% | 57% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 36% | 37% | 36% | 29% | 47% | 22% | 32% |
| Disagree | 14% | 12% | 16% | 11% | 19% | 12% | 11% |
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 37% | 35% | 38% | 51% | 15% | 56% | 48% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 32% | 33% | 31% | 26% | 41% | 23% | 28% |
| Disagree | 31% | 32% | 31% | 23% | 44% | 21% | 24% |
Do Media, Advertisers Have an Obligation?
As for the future of women’s sports, 46 percent of the general population, 55 percent of sports fans and 66 percent of avid fans agree that the sports marketplace has a growing appetite for content, ensuring growth and greater success. For women that number was 43 percent, for men it was 48 percent agreeing.
With this, 51 percent of the general population, 58 percent of sports fans and 69 percent of avid fans agree that networks, advertisers and other media platforms have a responsibility to promote the growth of women’s sports. There was more separation between men and women for this question: women polled at 54 percent in favor of league and network responsibility (only 15 percent disagreed), with men 6 points behind at 48 percent (23 percent disagreed, remainder neither agreed nor disagreed).
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 46% | 43% | 48% | 55% | 29% | 66% | 51% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 39% | 43% | 35% | 30% | 53% | 23% | 33% |
| Disagree | 15% | 14% | 17% | 15% | 18% | 11% | 16% |
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 51% | 54% | 48% | 58% | 39% | 69% | 53% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 30% | 31% | 29% | 23% | 40% | 17% | 26% |
| Disagree | 19% | 15% | 23% | 19% | 21% | 14% | 21% |
Men and Women Compete Against Each Other?
More than 40 percent of the general population, men, women, sports fans (and 57 percent of avid fans) feel that there should be more opportunities for men and women to compete together and against each other in professional sports.
Tennis and equality icon Billie Jean King along with her partner, sports industry leader Ilana Kloss, spoke at Seton Hall University on February 16, 2023 and King was apprised of the findings of this question. The event was moderated by Jane McManus, executive director of the Center for Sports Media at Seton Hall and former ESPN analyst and columnist for the New York Daily News.
Speaking about new fields of competition and the prospect of men and women competing with and against other, McManus said "There are ways to combine events. We have a poll here at Seton Hall and it is run out of the Stillman School. They have done some polling on women's sports and found that 57% of Avid Fans would like to see more combined sports where men and women play with or against each other."
Billie Jean King responded: "I have been suggesting this my whole life."
McManus: "So why..."
BJK: "Nobody will budge..."
McManus: "Why do you think that is, when it would bring in more money?"
BJK: "People get used to what ever is. They love it. They understand it. They are losing but they understand it. It feels comfortable. I say get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 44% | 43% | 46% | 41% | 35% | 57% | 48% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 30% | 33% | 26% | 26% | 35% | 20% | 29% |
| Disagree | 26% | 24% | 28% | 23% | 30% | 23% | 23% |
Government Support for Women's Sports?
Respondents were asked if there was a societal value to women’s sports, even extending the question to whether women’s sports be subsidized by the government. Nearly two thirds of the general public (64 percent), sports fans (73 percent) and avid fans (77 percent) agreed that there is a societal value. Among women that number was 61 percent, which was surpassed by men with 66 percent saying that there is a societal value to women’s sports.
Noting that In the United States, legislation and public funds have been used to support professional and collegiate sports and athletics, including taxpayer funding for professional sports stadiums and Title IX, a significant majority believe that the U.S. and/or state governments should fund women’s sports as a means of developing strong role models for young girls. In favor of such support were 60 percent of the general public, 69 percent of sports fans and 77 percent of avid fans. For women that number was 62 percent (12 percent disagreed); for men 59 percent believed there should be government support for women’s sports (17 percent disagreed).
Support for such support extended to existential aid for leagues in distress, with 45 percent of the general population, 53 percent of sports fans and 65 percent of avid fans favoring such in the event a women’s league was on the verge of failure. Among women that number rose to 47 percent while 43 percent of men agreed with the prospect of existential aid from government.
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 64% | 61% | 66% | 73% | 50% | 77% | 71% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 27% | 31% | 24% | 20% | 38% | 16% | 23% |
| Disagree | 9% | 8% | 10% | 7% | 12% | 7% | 6% |
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 60% | 62% | 59% | 69% | 47% | 77% | 65% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 25% | 26% | 24% | 20% | 33% | 14% | 22% |
| Disagree | 15% | 12% | 17% | 11% | 20% | 9% | 13% |
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Agree | 45% | 47% | 43% | 53% | 34% | 65% | 46% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 27% | 30% | 23% | 23% | 31% | 14% | 28% |
| Disagree | 28% | 23% | 34% | 24% | 35% | 21% | 26% |
Becoming a Fan of Women’s Sports
More people selected the viewing of the Olympics and World Cup as the impetus for directing attention to women’s sports, while playing sports as a child had the second highest number of responses.
Watching
On the question of which women’s sports do you watch the most, gymnastics, figure skating and World Cup soccer were the three highest ranked for the general population. Interestingly, with the exception of women’s gymnastics and figure skating, men’s interest in every other women’s sport exceeded that of women.
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Watched international events (e.g., Olympics, FIFA World Cup) |
28% | 25% | 32% | 40% | 11% | 37% | 37% |
| Played sport(s) as a child and interest continued | 21% | 21% | 21% | 28% | 11% | 45% | 27% |
| Have/had children who play/played sport | 19% | 20% | 18% | 23% | 12% | 25% | 22% |
| Friends/family introduced me to a player/team/league |
17% | 15% | 20% | 24% | 7% | 32% | 20% |
| Saw highlights that sparked my interest | 16% | 14% | 19% | 24% | 6% | 27% | 22% |
| There’s a team/event based in my area | 13% | 11% | 16% | 19% | 6% | 24% | 16% |
| Followed a female athlete on social media |
15% | 12% | 17% | 20% | 6% | 28% | 17% |
| Other_____ | 4% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 2% | 4% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 41% | 45% | 36% | 22% | 69% | 16% | 24% |
| N=1,534 | General Population | Women | Men | Sports Fan* | Non-Fan | Avid Fan | Casual Fan |
| Women’s gymnastics | 24% | 29% | 18% | 31% | 13% | 29% | 32% |
| Women’s figure skating | 20% | 25% | 14% | 26% | 10% | 23% | 28% |
| FIFA Women’s World Cup | 20% | 15% | 25% | 30% | 5% | 37% | 26% |
| Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) | 13% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 2% | 27% | 16% |
| Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) | 12% | 11% | 13% | 18% | 2% | 23% | 16% |
| NCAA Women’s sports | 11% | 8% | 14% | 17% | 1% | 23% | 14% |
| National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) | 10% | 7% | 12% | 14% | 3% | 17% | 12% |
| World Team Tennis | 10% | 7% | 13% | 26% | 10% | 23% | 28% |
| Women’s UFC/MMA/boxing | 10% | 7% | 13% | 15% | 2% | 20% | 13% |
| Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) | 9% | 6% | 13% | 14% | 1% | 20% | 12% |
| Other ____ | 3% | 2% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| None of these | 47% | 50% | 42% | 26% | 78% | 21% | 28% |
Questions, breakdowns and additional charts may be found below; an online version
of this release may be found here.
About the Poll
The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey
Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by
YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age,
ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents
were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council
on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll
by Cornell’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published
everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters
to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between. Media: Michael Ricciardelli,
Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
Media: [email protected], 908-447-3034; Marty Appel, [email protected]
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