NZME Shines Spotlight on Women’s Sport Coverage   28 Apr 2016

NZME Shines Spotlight on Women’s Sport Coverage

28 April 2016 – New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) kicks off its Olympic Games coverage with the launch of She’s Got Game, a fortnightly video show highlighting the incredible accomplishments of New Zealand’s female athletes.

Launching today, exactly 100 days out from the start of the games, She’s Got Game drew the inspiration for its name from women at the top of their game, in their relative sporting field.

She’s Got Game will challenge the common misconception that women don’t care about sport by presenting sporting news on a platform all genders can engage with. The fortnightly show will showcase interviews with Olympic athletes, cover the news and issues with discussion and observation, and feature a number of rotating segments. ‘Train Like a Girl’ will delve into the rigorous training schedules athletes follow, while ‘Around the World’ will highlight athlete performances overseas.

Radio Sport Sports Editor Rikki Swannell says, “With New Zealand’s female athletes poised to dominate New Zealand’s medal count in Rio, we want to ensure they get not only the coverage they deserve but also their profiles are raised in the lead up to Games. The Olympics will then be the springboard for more female-focused media in sport going forward.”

Swannell says sporting news has long been heavily dominated by male-focused coverage, and NZME is determined to become the leading voice in a space traditionally ignored.

Kereyn Smith, CEO of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, is thrilled to see a focus on women’s sporting endeavours and achievements.

“These athletes are the elite in their sport. They are phenomenal sportspeople who are incredible to watch, in addition to being inspirational. We have battled the disparity in coverage for women in sport for such a long time, so it’s truly great to see NZME committed to highlighting these amazing athletes.”

She’s Got Game is just one of the initiatives NZME are rolling out in the lead up to the Olympics: A 100-day countdown will appear on multiple NZME sites, accompanied by daily articles, investigations utilizing NZME’s data journalism department, profiles, reviews of past performances, exclusive behind the scenes footage and of course, comprehensive coverage of the games themselves.

NZME are no strangers to delivering in-depth coverage of sporting events. They had the largest online audience for Rugby World Cup news in 2015* and over 3 million people viewed NZME video content on Facebook.

Each episode of She’s Got Game will be approximately 10 minutes long, living within the Herald’s dedicated Olympic news section on nzherald.co.nz The first episode will be available from 10am today.

ENDS

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