Coverage of women in sport a gamble

Limited media coverage for women's sport means limited commercial opportunities for women's sport. Dianne Jones says female athletes will get their time in the spotlight during the London Olympics, but will it last once the flame has been extinguished?

Coverage of women’s sports is about to get as good as it gets – but not for long.

During the Olympics, a cocktail of nationalism, opportunity, success and convenience propels mainstream media coverage of female athletes to record highs. Nationalism because we want to support those competing in our name. Opportunity because, finally, there’s near parity in the number of events open to women and men (women competed in 45 per cent of the events at Beijing). Of course, success and the expectation of it generates coverage. It’s also convenient for journalists when women’s and men’s same-sport events happen in close proximity to each other.