Bosses at Sky Sports have responded after the launch of their new TikTok channel Sky Sports ‘Halo’ was heavily criticised online, but it just made things worse
Sky Sports bosses have responded to huge backlash over new female-targeted coverage marketed as the marketed as the “lil sis” of their main content – and it’s just made things worse.
The broadcaster previously said ‘Sky Sports Halo’ was created “specifically for female sports fans” with the aim of “championing female athletes”.
The TikTok channel for Halo features videos covered in love hearts and pink text, along with what fans saw as “girlboss” style language, which they argued reduced female sports interest to stereotypes.
One video showing Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland combining for one of the Manchester City striker’s goals against Bournemouth, has the caption: “How the matcha + hot girl walk combo hits”.
However, it didn’t go down well online, with their alleged “pinkifying” of sport roundly mocked and some fans going as far as to accuse them of being “sexist” and “degrading”.
Now, seniors at Sky Sports have responded to the reaction online, which included fans branding Sky Sports Halo as “patronising” and “cringe”.
In a post on LinkedIn, Head of Social Media and Audience Development at Sky Sports, Andy Gill, wrote that Sky Sports Halo is ‘sports content through a female lens.’
He said: “Today we launched Sky Sports Halo, a new TikTok channel (to start with) for female sports fans. Importantly, this is NOT a women’s sports account; it’s sports content through a female lens.
“That means, it’s tapping into trends and content types which, frankly, wouldn’t pop up on my FYP, and applying it to ALL sports. We want Halo to be a welcoming community for female sports fans, whether casual or committed, with content that is relatable.
“I couldn’t be prouder and more excited about this launch. Proud, because this has been driven by the women in our team and embraced and supported by ALL across the business. And excited, because of, well, the possibilities…
“This is just the start. How we think about the content will no doubt evolve, as it always does across social, but recognising the need is the first step. Huge thanks to everyone that has helped us get to this point.”
But female fans were not impressed by the post and some branded the announcement as “patronising” and “incredibly disappointing.”
One woman wrote: “Incredibly disappointing. At a time when so many people are working hard to bring women’s sport onto a level playing field, Sky Sports has decided to take us right back to the 80s.
I’d love to see the market research that led Sky to believe the content being produced on Halo’s TikTok account is what female sports fans actually want.”
Another added: “Did no members of the team, at any stage, flag what an incredible misjudgement this might turn out to be?! I’m sure your intentions were good, but getting it so wrong when there are – presumably – so many layers of people who have to sign this off, is astonishing.”
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