Channel 4 has partnered Coca-Cola to create a weekly TV show, Women’s Football World, that will be hosted by Clare Balding from a different women’s club stadium or training ground each week.
The deal was brokered by 4Sales and MediaCom.
The show, produced by Nimble Productions, will feature action from multiple international competition, including England’s Women’s Super League, the Uefa Champions League and the top leagues of the US, Germany, Italy and France. It will be shown on Saturday mornings, with the first episode debuting on 20 April, and run for six weeks.
In addition to the TV show, Channel 4 will create short-form content for All 4, as well as social and digital platforms led by freestyle footballer and influencer Liv Cooke, with the aim of building a women’s football community.
Balding previously hosted Channel 4’s coverage of Uefa Women’s Euro 2017, while Cooke, then 17, starred in a spot from 4Creative promoting the coverage.
Channel 4 recorded the highest-ever UK audience for a women’s football match that summer when a peak audience of 4.2 million tuned in to watch England’s semi-final against the Netherlands – only to see the Lionesses knocked out.
The latest news follows the launch of Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Premier League, celebrated in recent campaign "Where everyone plays", which featured fans of all 20 of the league’s teams.
Andrea Bombrini, senior brand manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: "With a long-standing heritage of supporting the game at all levels, from grassroots to the world stage, and via our partnership with Fifa Women’s World Cup, we hope the new show shines a light on the incredible talent in women’s football and brings fans even closer to the game."
Simon Wells, partnership controller at Channel 4, added: "This is a great moment in Channel 4’s history. Investing in women’s football will supercharge our commitment to diversity and we could not be more excited to have one of the country’s top sports presenters, Clare Balding, leading the programme, which will give the nation exclusive insight into the world of women’s football."
.jpg)
.jpeg)
