Sky Sports has admitted ‘we didn’t get it right’ and have ditched their new Halo account, just three days after launch, following a furious backlash.
The broadcaster had intended to create a space ‘specifically for female sports fans’ but the tone and nature of the content was castigated almost immediately and dubbed ‘patronising’.
Billed as the ‘lil sis’ of Sky Sports, the channel launched on TikTok earlier this week and began posting a series of clips that were supposedly designed to resonate with women.
One post displayed New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani revealing his love of Arsenal accompanied by the caption ‘Thinking about Zohran Mamdani rizzing us and Arsenal up.’
Pink coloured captions were a regular feature of the initial posts which also included references to matcha lattes, Labubu toys and ‘hot girl walks’.
Following scathing criticism, Sky Sports bosses addressed concerns clarifying that the account had been created to capture ‘sports content through a female lens.’
In a post on LinkedIn, Head of Social Media and Audience Development at Sky Sports, Andy Gill, wrote: ‘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.’
By Saturday evening, however, a tidal wave of negative publicity forced Sky Sports into a rethink which culminated in them deleting all but two posts, one of which was a brief statement confirming the account had been culled.
‘Our intention for Halo was to create a space alongside our existing channel for new, young, female fans,’ it read.
‘We’ve listened. We didn’t get it right. As a result we’re stopping all activity on this account.
‘We’re learning and remain as committed as ever to creating spaces where fans feel included and inspired.’