Sky sports created a new tik tok account under the name ‘Halo.’ Their aim for the account was to create a space for female sports fans, to keep them up to date and allow them to have access to explore all forms of sport content. However, the account lasted a mere three days before it was taken down, after it received a huge amount of backlash. Whilst it had good intentions behind it, the account was a space of mere patronisation. This article will explore what kinds of backlash the account received, and why such backlash was hugely justified.
Sky Sports’ Halo account posted standard sports clips but overlaid them with pink stickers, pastel text and social-media-friendly motifs. In one video showing a football match, for example, they added a caption reading “how the matcha + hot girl walk combo hits” in bold pink lettering — an aesthetic more reminiscent of lifestyle influencers than sports coverage.So why exactly did people have a problem with this? Well, the answer is as simple as: it is patronising. Seeing as Sky Sports Halo was titled: the ‘lil sis’ of sports, we begin to realise that whilst women have been fighting for years to have equal opportunities in the sporting world, sky have actually gone and made something separate all together, widening this divide. Leaning into gendered stereotypes and ‘girl only’ tropes demonstrated how sky sports believed women needed something lighter, and easier to digest – because they don’t see women as being smart enough to absorb the same content as men. Sky sports did not need a ‘little sister’ to dumb down sports content for its female fans, yet it made the account anyway. In using pink letters and stickers, and the ideas of ‘matcha’ and ‘hot girl walks’, halo played sports down to women, implying that women are not as capable as men at consuming and understanding this content. Women need sport to be ‘softened’ and ‘pinkified’ in order to be understood – a direct attack on women’s comprehension. Using such tropes reinforces the idea that women can only be spoken to through cliches, rather than substance.They cannot understand tactics, competition, analysis and more without stickers and pink writing over the top of it.
Where Halo also went wrong was in its response to the criticism the TikTok account immediately received. When one user commented, “I can’t believe this is what you think female sports fans like,” Sky Sports replied, “can’t believe you brought that kind of energy.” This exchange made it clear that Sky Sports placed the blame on female fans rather than reflecting on their own misjudgement. Instead of acknowledging that the platform’s content was patronising, the reply dismissed legitimate criticism as negativity. It is a textbook example of refusing accountability: framing women’s frustration as hostility rather than as feedback about flawed, stereotyping content. Beyond being unprofessional, the response came across as defensive, tone-deaf, and entirely at odds with the understanding and inclusivity the channel claimed to champion.
So, what exactly could Sky Sports have done better? Firstly, they should have taken accountability instead of getting defensive. Secondly, they should have asked women what they wanted, rather than assuming. Halo was very clearly built on narrow assumptions about what women like: the colour pink, stickers, and trending motifs. Instead, if Sky had asked their fans, they would have realised that women want inclusion, not separation, and a space where they can enjoy sports without a fear of patronisation lurking around them. The platform could have been used to showcase female athletes, encourage women to get into sport, and provide serious sport analysis and coverage.
This goes to demonstrate why the backlash that Sky Sports faced was completely justified. In a nation where women are looked down on in all aspects of life, such as the home and the workplace, all they wanted was a safe space rooted in equality. The collapse of Halo should serve as more than just a PR blunder – it is a lesson, teaching us to veer away from stereotypes and accept criticism where it is given. Meaningful inclusion is not achieved through branding tricks and pastel coloured marketing, its achieved through accountability, respect, and understanding. If Sky Sports truly wants to include female fans, the first step is simple: listen to them.