Sport NZ - Media and Gender Study - 4th Annual Report

This study continues to show significant advances in the coverage of women’s sport in New Zealand media, increasing from 15% in 2020 to 26% in 2023. However, 2023 is the first year where gender balance has not improved year on year - 26% of sports coverage in 2023 was about women, compared to 28% in 2022.

The 2022 result came off the back of New Zealand hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Women’s Cricket World Cup which drove increases across that year. The FIFA Women’s World Cup was the key event that helped drive and maintain high coverage for women in 2023. While the event had the greatest impact on balance during a tournament period of all major events across this study, it was not enough to continue the gains made in the previous year.

Following the World Cup events in 2022, both rugby and cricket had significant declines in women’s coverage in 2023, along with a series of smaller declines across more than half of sports tracked.

The quality and depth of women’s sports coverage continues to improve along with the volume of reporting. Topics of discussion have broadened over the last three years, with an increased focus on training and preparation, with minimal difference between how women’s sport and men’s sport is reported on.

The New Zealand media landscape is undergoing significant change with a number of major newsrooms restructuring and reducing in size. TVNZ has cancelled shows and reduced news bulletins, and Warner Bros. Discovery news division - Newshub - closed in July 2024. While the gender balance of stories may not be significantly impacted by these moves, they will impact the opportunity to see women in sports news coverage, particularly on television. They will also impact the opportunities for career paths into sports journalism.