Ramon Machuca
The research, carried out by Alba Adá Lameiras, professor of Business Economics at the URJC and Ana Bernal Triviño, professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the UOC, examined four sports programmes and five journalist channels on Twitch. The results show that women participated 34 times compared to 475 times for men, appearing only once every nine hours of broadcasting. In addition, their role was mostly secondary, with sporadic interventions focused on minor issues.
The channel that broadcast the most hours, 'The Snack', had only one woman in the entire coverage, while others, such as the sports narrator, Miguel Angel Roman, did not include any. The study also highlights that men occupied leadership positions in all spaces, leaving female journalists in secondary roles, such as reading advertisements.
For the authors of the report, these data confirm that Twitch has not brought about a real change in the representation of women in sports journalism. Far from progressing, the situation has in many cases worsened, perpetuating traditional stereotypes in the new generations.
On Qatar World Cup, the entertainment platform Twitch established itself as a reference space for following live matches. Journalists, former footballers and content creators participated in these broadcasts, offering an alternative to traditional media and allowing direct interaction with the audience and more dynamic coverage. The participation of figures such as Luis Enrique, former Spanish national team coach, who opened his own channel to interact directly with fans, reaching audiences of almost 200.000 viewers, stood out.