Sky Sports New TikTok account, Halo, Fails its Mission and is Taken Down

Formula One

Sky Sports has removed their new TikTok channel, Halo, that was created as a female-focused

base for sports fans. It was eliminated after intense backlash online, seeing the videos posted

deemed as sexist.

With the bio “little sister” to Sky Sports, the channel was meant for the engagement and

entertainment of female sports fans, but after three days of the profiles launch it was shut down

after missing the mark on its intended goal.

While it was made to promote feminism and women in sports, its posts and actions seemed to

have backfired in the opposite direction by further spanning the gender divide leading towards its

collapse.

On Nov. 15, the account shut down as the broadcaster stated it “didn’t get it right.”

With creating an account to be a “little sister,” was seen as patronizing to many female sports

fans. Moreover, they found themselves attempting to relate to women by posting about “hot girl

walks" and “matcha” within their content.

One specific post that received harsh criticism, was that of Manchester City players scoring

against Bournemouth with a note “how the match + hot girl walk combo hits.”

Female sports fans around the world found this to be sexist as it sends the message that women

only understand sports through notions such as those. Fans found the post to undermine the effort

of bringing a female community into sports.

Although the attempt was “to build a welcoming community for female fans,” Sky said about

Halo, the actions taken fell far down from the target.

Many fans took the posts to be condescending and sexist. This channel brought male and female

sports content creators alike to post videos on the sexist remarks made by Halo.

This channel started a new trending flooding TikTok sport videos that showcases women

watching or playing sports with captions of proving they have never been confused. These

videos were made to prove the message of Halo incorrect, and that women do not need a separate fanbase to “understand” sports but rather a strong community.

Sky Sports Halo attempted to create this safe community but missed the mark and instead

backtracked countless women in sports. After three days live, Sky Sports heard the backlash and

released a statement on the channel's takedown: “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."While this account failed at its intended purpose, it was able to bring social media together in showcasing the strong women in the sports community by finding the underlying sexism within the Halo account.

By Mira Johal