The explosion in interest in women’s football during the past five years has been spearheaded by two of the biggest broadcasters in the UK – Sky Sports and the BBC.
In snapping up the Champions League before the 2025-26 season, Disney added its heft into the game, recognising its potential for capturing new audiences.
Indeed, Scott herself has launched her own YouTube show this season, One More Word WSL, which she presents on a Sunday night alongside ex-England internationals Anita Asante and Fara Williams.
Broadcasters have ramped up experiments with format, style and tone – Disney+ even had a dog on set during their coverage – but perhaps unsurprisingly, not every idea proves to be successful.
Journalist Carrie Dunn, who has covered women’s sport for more than two decades, says opinions about coverage reflect a tension at the heart of the game.
“The challenge broadcasters are finding is that they are not sure who the audience is,” she says. “A lot of it is targeted at a new generation and it’s clearly not for people who have watched women’s football for longer.
“Often it’s a resourcing issue. Budgets are being cut and you’re finding the same presenters and the same pundits trying to be all things to all people. It just doesn’t work.”
In the summer, the BBC announced its Women’s Super League highlights show would not return for the 2026-27 season, but insisted it remained “fully committed to women’s football”.
To illustrate, it cited a bespoke new YouTube channel, the introduction of a debate show entitled The Women’s Football Fallout, exclusively on BBC iPlayer, and the availability of clips and analysis on the BBC Sport website as evidence.
The decisions are part of a move away from linear television that the BBC says reflects changing audience habits.
It is a shift in emphasis that comes with difficulties.
“It’s a tough balance where you’ve got to explain some context to the new fans without patronising your older fans,” Dunn adds. “That’s something the major broadcasters have not found a solution to yet.
“If people are willing to take risks on different kinds of women’s sports coverage, that’s fantastic.
“But start by choosing one thing and doing it really well – and that’s got to be decent match coverage.”
Aston Villa interim boss Brian Sorensen started as a coach in Denmark in 2009 and believes the innovations in women’s football coverage are a good thing, even if some do not always work.
“A lot of positive things are happening, but there are a lot of new areas that we haven’t tried before,” he said. “Sometimes it’s trial and error and finding the right way for us.
“From when I started – with the worst live stream you’ve ever seen – to where we are now, is a very big improvement.”
Andree Jeglertz, manager of champions Manchester City, agrees, acknowledging that the fact women’s football has a much bigger audience now is a huge positive.
“I think the most important thing is that it is available and that people can see the best players on TV or live,” he said. “The more, the better, no matter what.”
Tottenham counterpart Martin Ho says the onus is on clubs and players to ensure the product on the field is worth watching.
“Whatever a broadcast partner decides to do, they have their reasons for it,” he said. “All we can control is that we put on a good advert for women’s football.”
Finally, Chelsea’s Sonia Bompastor suggested she was open to new expressions in covering the game provided they were properly analysed.
“Anytime you try to do something new, you will please some people and upset others,” she told BBC Sport. “Sometimes you need to be patient and analyse as it is too soon to say if something is right or not.”
