Women’s Sport: Equal Opps on both sides of the lens

This event initiated by France’s independent broadcasting freedom authority, the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), aims “to rally the broadcast media alongside leading figures in sport to reinforce the rising profile of women in contemporary sports and bolster their media representation”.

Four events are planned for the year, one at the start of each season.

With this initiative, the group takes its commitment to equal opportunities a step further, following the gender equality agreement it signed and the Fifty-Fifty network that was set up.

TF1’s sports coverage is headed by two women: Anne-Sophie de Kristoffy, Director of the Sports Department since 2008, and Caroline Henry, de Kristoffy’s deputy and a well-known face on news bulletins. Both women are keen to give women’s sport regular coverage in TF1 and LCI news programming.

The first edition of “Four Seasons of Women’s Sport” takes place this weekend, with Anne-Claire Coudray’s news bulletin featuring a report by Pierre-Emmanuel Chinardet profiling champion pentathlete** Elodie Clouvel.

LCI also shines its spotlight on women, with Manon Brunet of France’s national sabre team appearing on Saturday night’s news bulletin, and Sunday morning’s programme featuring European judo champion and Olympic silver medallist Frédérique Jossinet.

Also on Sunday, football fans tuning in to Téléfoot will catch profiles of Paris Saint Germain striker Marie-Laure Delie and Lyon’s centre-forward Eugénie le Sommer.

Remember this is the same programme that featured keen football fan Charlotte Namura last September, who says she’s delighted: “This kind of initiative highlights the passion for sport that drives female athletes, and shows how hard they work all year. They’ve often been forgotten in sports broadcasting and deserve the same recognition as their male counterparts.”