Viewership of this year’s Super Netball season rose by 10 per cent compared to the previous season, with the sport’s growth also seen in record-breaking attendance at live games.
New figures released by Fox Sports Australia show there was a 9 per cent increase in audiences watching the game on Fox Sports, and an 11 per cent increase in those tuning in to netball on Kayo Sports and Foxtel Go/Now.
“I think it comes down to the added attention that women’s codes and women’s sports are starting to capture,” Erin Ferreira, an Executive Producer at Fox Netball told Women’s Agenda on Thursday.
“People are waking up to the fact that women’s sport is progressive, it’s cut throat, it’s exciting for all the right reasons. Our athletes are competing in some of the best leagues in the world, and Super Netball is exactly that – the best in the world.”
Ferreira says her team has put in the work to make sure the game is captivating the audience and telling the sport’s story in factual and relevant way for those watching on at home.
“Our sport hasn’t necessarily had this much attention before, so we’ve got this opportunity to tell those stories and elevate them to another level,” she said. “That’s why we are starting to see this sustainable growth year on year.”
The nail-biting Super Netball grand final, held last weekend at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, saw a record crowd attend, with a sell out crowd of 9,622. The game came down to extra time, seeing the Adelaide Thunderbirds beat the NSW Swifts by 1 point.
The growth of attendance at games was demonstrated not just at the grand final, but across the entire season. The figures indicate attendance at live games across the home and away season was up by 25 per cent, compared to 2022.
Meanwhile, club membership grew substantially, with an increase of 20 per cent and a total of 30,675 members across the eight clubs.
Ferreira notes that streaming options offered by Kayo Sports, as well as the streaming platform’s marketing ability has helped put the game in front of new and growing viewers.
“It’s about the accessibility of it,” Ferreira said. “We might be trying to appeal to households where women’s sport is not neccessarily the first click of the button, but giving them the access to get it on a second screen, or get it digitally, or watch it on repeat or via Freebies, is massive.”
“These kinds of options never existed before for the viewers.”
This season’s coverage was also accompanied by three weekly magazine shows Centre Circle, Pivot and The 4th Qtr, all of which worked to boost viewer engagement and deepen audience connection to the game.
“This is coming from a base of never having had magazine shows, or anything close to that kind of attention,” Ferreira said. “Building that talkability ahead of the weekend is so important.”
Now, we are just weeks out from the 2023 Netball World Cup, which gets underway in South Africa on July 28. Ferreria says her team’s coverage will focus on telling the story of the Diamonds as they compete for the title.
“The Diamonds have unfinished business,” Ferreria said. “That’s a massive part of it.”
“We’re also lucky to have the games airing at a great time slot of 6 or 6.30pm. And we have the best of the best leading the coverage – Hannah Hollis, Catherine Cox, Kim Green, Caitlin Bassett and Bianca Chatfield.”
“The Diamonds are such a powerful team and we want to share what they’re going to be doing this World Cup and into the future.”