Research study on the presence of women sports on Catalan public television

Research based on the need for quantitative and qualitative knowledge on the media coverage and treatment of the women sport by Catalan public television of the Gender Unit at the Catalan Council of Sport. The main objective of the study is to determine the visibility level of women sport in Catalonia on Catalan public television.

The work offers an overview on the coverage made by Catalan public television of women’s sports, in comparison with men’s sport. This work combines two methodologies: content analysis (for the identification and quantification of the presence of actors linked to female sports practice in the total sample) and discourse analysis (to deepen in the textual structures that transmit a certain image and that support it in an argumentative way). The study is based on a random sample of a total of 672 hours, collected in two phases.

Results offer elements to justify the need to enhance the presence of women’s sport, and in particular the female sport practiced in Catalonia, on Catalan public television. After the presentation of the study, an agreement was signed between the General Secretary of Sports and TV3 to continue promoting women’s and minority sports.

The research work, developed from February 2008 to June 2009, was financed through the Public Call of the Generalitat of Catalonia for the granting of subsidies to encourage the carrying out of training activities, or research, in the scope of the university, related to the competence areas of the Catalan Institute for Women, for the period 2008-2009. The final report was presented to the Catalan Women’s Institute in July 2009. A presentation was also made of the main results in a working session with the General Secretariat of Sports.