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Sky Sports has decided to shut down its recently launched TikTok channel, Halo, which was designed specifically for a female audience. The move came after widespread criticism on social media, where many described the channel’s content as “patronising” and “sexist.” The broadcaster acknowledged its misstep in a statement shared on social media on Saturday night, confirming it would cease all activity on the Halo account.
Halo was introduced just days earlier, positioned as an inclusive platform meant to celebrate women’s perspectives in sports and offer engaging content tailored for female fans. Sky Sports described the channel as a space for women to explore and enjoy sports content, whether they were casual viewers or passionate followers. Despite this intention, the channel’s posts quickly drew negative attention, with some users pointing to its focus on stereotypically feminine themes like “hot girl walks,” matcha tea, and Labubu toys, which many saw as trivializing the sports experience for women.
The channel’s approach included posts that featured light-hearted but controversial content, such as a TikTok explaining an infamous Formula 1 incident from 2008 with bright pink text and nail polish emojis. Another post highlighted a combination play between Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland captioned “How the matcha + hot girl walk combo hits.” Critics argued that such choice of content was infantilizing and overshadowed efforts to advance women’s sports coverage in recent years. Comments ranged from disappointment that the initiative was “one step forwards, 50 years back” to outright frustration from platforms focused on women’s football, who expressed bewilderment over the content and branding.
Among the criticism, some users called the entire concept of a simplified sports channel for women “unbelievably sexist” and condescending, highlighting that the channel mainly featured male sports stars despite its intended female audience. Andy Gill, Sky Sports’ head of social media and audience development, initially expressed pride and excitement about Halo’s launch in a LinkedIn post; however, the backlash prompted a swift reversal of strategy. The majority of Halo’s posts have now been removed, save for a brief message from Sky admitting the channel missed the mark. The statement emphasized Sky Sports’ commitment to creating inclusive fan spaces and recognized the need to learn from the experience. When approached, Sky declined to provide additional comments
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