Missing the mark
On launching a women's sport media brand
You might have seen that Sky Sports launched their new TikTok page for women fans of sport last Thursday. Or maybe you didn’t, because by Saturday night it had been scrapped.
The now-infamous account, christened “Halo” by its creators, did not survive a full weekend of sport because of the huge amount of criticism it received online.
It was described as “patronising” and “condescending” by its long list of critics. One of the main gripes was the page’s tagline, “the lil sis” of Sky Sports. The content itself referred to “hot girl walks” and “matcha”, and there was obviously a lot of pink, glitzy branding.
The company launched it as an “inclusive, dedicated platform for women to enjoy and explore content from all sports, while amplifying female voices and perspectives”. However well-meaning, the internet decided that Sky had missed the mark on this occasion. It felt like a dumbing down of sport, leaning into female stereotypes, and the account was shut down within days.
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