Sky Sports recently launched a TikTok account targeting female Formula One fans. By using pink typography and matcha aesthetics, they thought they would easily win hearts. This turned out to be a complete and utter disaster. This account was shut down within three days of launching due to massive backlash. Female fans from across the globe were furious. I spoke with an international journalism student in Ghent, Belgium to get her perspective on this situation. For fans like her, the incident highlighted a deeper problem: sports media still doesn't understand how to talk to women.
Urzina, at just 22 years old, represents a growing demographic shaping motorsports: she is a young woman who knows the difference between a V6 and a V12 engine, who can explain what DRS means and who is tired of constantly being stereotyped. "I would feel degraded seeing an account filled with pink glitter and overly 'girly' graphics just to appear more 'understandable' or 'inviting' to female fans," she says, reflecting on Sky Sports' failed attempt.
As of late November, Sky Sports UK decided to launch "Halo," a TikTok account specifically to attract female F1 fans. Thanks largely to Netflix's hit "Drive To Survive," there has been a massive increase of younger demographics, especially young women. Their strategy and timing seemed perfect.
Unfortunately, their execution was far from perfect. It backfired immensely. Their account featured pink typography, matcha drinks aesthetics and "hot girl walks." Because of this criticism, within three days Sky Sports decided to take the account down entirely.
For fans from all around the world like Urzina, this wasn't just a marketing disaster. This was a sign of how sports media continue to stereotype women's passion with sports.
Urzina didn't develop her interest in Formula One through stereotypical content such as fan edits but rather through genuine curiosity. It wasn't something unexpected; her parents had always been fans of the sport but she wasn't much interested. Not until late 2022 at least. Sebastian Vettel's farewell video caught her attention, followed by footage of Charles Leclerc's dramatic Baku crash in 2019. "Ever since then, I've been curious about how the sport works," she tells me. In 2023, the sport started to gain more diverse attention, beyond "just fathers in the family."
But sadly this interest of hers came with assumptions, particularly from male fans who dismissed the idea of developing an interest for the technical complexities but more for the attractive drivers. "It's very insulting," she tells, describing encounters with male fans who would quiz her on her knowledge of Formula One. Asking questions about DRS and comparisons of engine sounds, testing her. "As if women do not have the capacity to absorb technical terms like how they do." Sky Sports's strategy for their Halo account was tone deaf, reinforcing the very typical stuff that female fans are accused of. Their content featuring glittery pink visuals, highlighting the whole matcha-hot-girl-walk aesthetic. Urzina insists by saying "Information about sports can be presented normally, and everyone will understand it, regardless of gender."
While talking to her she pointed out something interesting. She points out the fundamental contradiction in Sky Sports' strategy: "They do acknowledge female audiences, but it's not enough. If their goal was to target female sports fans, then why not highlight female-dominated sports as well?" She continues by clarifying that sports shouldn't be limited by gender, anyone can enjoy any sport. But the execution sends a clear message. "I just feel they should give the same level of attention to women in sports too."
As an international journalism student, Urzina has ideas on how sports media could improve. There isn't just one solution but it's also not complex. All it requires is abandoning stereotypical assumptions.
"Sky Sports could have taken a more thoughtful and inclusive approach by focusing on substance rather than stereotypical visuals," she explains. "Instead of assuming what female fans want, they could have prioritized respectful and informative content that appeals to everyone."
If she were to run the account she would include content such as female athletes' achievements, ranking updates and data analysis on rising talents. "Like how coverage is given to male-dominated sports." This approach isn't something revolutionary, it's simple. Treating female audiences the same as male viewers.
Sky Sports has yet to comment on this. They took their account down without any further explanation. But this incident for sure sparked a debate on the importance of diverse representation in sports media.
For fans like Urzina, the message is loud and clear: women don't need pink glitter to understand sports. What they do need is media that takes them seriously and doesn't have prejudice about their interests based on gender.
"In a male-dominated fanbase, it's nice to see more female fans like me getting into the sport as well. Women shouldn't be shamed for liking sports, because just like men, we're curious about how F1 works, not just about finding drivers attractive."
The future of sports seems bright. The question that stays is whether sports media can follow and reshape it without falling back to stereotypes.