AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sven Burchartz and Jessica Bell, Kalus Kenny Intelex
9. Esports 9.1 Esports Overview
corporate supporters of women’s sport benefit - ing from more than AUD650 million annually in customer value. The report found that the spon - sorship of women outperformed men across brand awareness, brand consideration and customer conversion. However, despite these impressive figures, industry benchmarks show that the value of women’s elite sport properties is, as at September 2024, at only 12% of the level of men’s elite sport properties. In March 2023, it was reported that only 10% of broadcast coverage was allocated to wom - en’s sport, a slight increase from 7.6% in May 2020. However, a study by Foxtel Media in 2023 revealed that viewing engagement of women’s sport on the pay-TV platform has increased, with 36% of Australians consuming an hour or more of women’s sport per week (up from 32% in 2022). The study also found that the positive impact of sponsorship of women’s sport increased in 2023, with 68% of viewers feeling more positive towards brands that sponsor women’s sport in comparison to 53% surveyed in 2022. Competition Growth The AFL is one of the most (if not the most) popular spectator sports in Australia, and now the Women’s AFL (AFLW) is one of the fastest- growing competitions in women’s sport in Aus - tralia. The first time that women were represent - ed in AFL was in 2013, with the official AFLW professional competition beginning in 2017. At that time, the AFLW had only eight participating teams. The number of teams grew quickly, with all 18 AFL clubs having AFLW teams by 2023. Developing Women’s Sport Further in Australia There are a number of organisations in Aus - tralia whose purpose is to develop women’s sport, including one notable organisation called
Australia has made significant progress and investment in developing its women’s sporting industry in recent years, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Notable examples include an AUD5 million investment in 2022 into Basketball Australia to support the delivery of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and associated legacy programmes. In 2023, on the back of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Australian govern - ment committed AUD200 million to the women’s sports infrastructure in Australia to fund gear and facilities for female athletes. While the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and, in particular, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have significantly boosted the visibility and popularity of women’s sport in Australia, it is fair to say that there remains a considerable gap to bridge in achieving parity with men’s sport. As part of its “Play our Way” programme, the Australian government announced in late 2024 an investment of AUD136 million in sporting grants that it will provide across Australia with a view to helping more than 100,000 women and girls enjoy better facilities at their local clubs. It is intended that projects such as this will help remove barriers to participation in sport for girls and women and, in turn, begin to bridge the gap between men’s and women’s sport. Notable Statistics In 2023 the “Value of You Can Be What You Can See” report, commissioned by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, reported that women’s elite and grassroots sport in Victoria has seen significant growth in recent years, with
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